The Mist
by Darev
Summary: After a freak storm, a mysterious mist envelops Middleton. Kim, Ron, and other residents are trapped in the local Smarty Mart, waiting for help to arrive. But as tensions rise, the real monsters reveal themselves.
1. Before the storm

**Darev: **Happy "early" Halloween. I finally got around to rewriting the first few chapters of my Kim Possible/The Mist story. Progress, as always has been slow, but at long last here is the first revamped chapter. I'm trying to avoid my earliest mistakes and writing as much as possible prior to posting. Hence, this fic will be updated in spurts of at least two to three chapters.

**Summary: **When a mysterious black fog envelops Middleton, several residents are trapped inside the local Smarty Mart. Tensions begin to rise as the patrons soon realize that no help is coming. But the dangers of the mist, and the monsters that lurk inside it, pale in comparison to their own innate human nature. As people start turning on one another, Kim, Ron and a loose group of friends and enemies must find a way to stay alive long enough to survive their ordeal...as well as the darkness that threatens to consume their very souls.

**Disclaimer:** Kim Possible is a property of the Disney Corporation. The series and characters were created by Bob Schooley and Mark McCorckle. The Mist is based off a novella by American horror writer Stephen King.

**Rating:** Teen but may gradually become M as the story progresses.

* * *

Dr. James Timothy Possible was a creature of habit. Every day before breakfast, he would get up, shower, brush his teeth, shave, get dressed, and come downstairs to have breakfast with his family. Of course he would take a slight detour to the front door where the morning paper would be waiting for him. This is what he loved most about Middleton; the inescapable monotony of predictability. James wasn't so much afraid of change as that he liked things the way they were.

What's not to like, he mused? He had a wonderful wife, three great kids, an upstanding job at one of the world's premiere research centers for spacecraft and aerodynamic study, and was one of the most respected men in his field. James lived in a beautiful home in one of the nicest, quietest, and cleanest neighborhoods this side of the Rocky Mountains. Middleton was a paradise on Earth and if God willed it, James would make this his home for the rest of his natural life. It had been a difficult road getting here but James could pat himself on the back knowing that he had earned everything he had...and everything that was coming to him.

He earned the right to be happy and to be pleased with his station in life. If he could, he would freeze every moment and live in it forever. Of course that was physically impossible, not to mention highly improbable even for a rabid Captain Constellation fan such as himself. But James wouldn't change a thing. He reveled in the past, enjoyed the present, and lived for the future. All he asked was that things would stay the same.

Opening the door, James felt something very different in his perfect world. There was a foreboding in the wind; a disturbance in the Force, one might say. James picked up his paper and held it as a warrior would the hilt of his sword when he sensed danger. A low rumbling caught his ear. James followed the sound to where a convoy of military vehicles was passing his house. There were two trucks, each filled with soldiers, making their way down the street. The procession disappeared around the corner and James just stood there, as if he'd just stepped into somebody else's dream. This isn't Middleton, he thought. But it was, and James knew why.

Closing the door, James entered the kitchen to find his wife had already lain breakfast out on the table. No sooner had James sat himself down when two bundles of energy came running in. "Jim. Tim. What have I told you about running in the kitchen?" He scolded his twin sons.

"Sorry, Dad." They spoke in unison, a trait which had become both endearing and creepy to the devoted father of three. It was said that twins shared a brain between them. James wasn't sure if that was true as he was no brain surgeon. His wife on the other hand...

"Eat up, boys. You don't want to be late for school." Anne Possible placed a stack of pancakes before the famished Possible doppelgangers. One look at all that milk-buttery goodness and it was feeding time at the farm. Jim and Tim retained enough civility to put their napkins around their neck but after that all bets were off and they stacked half a dozen cakes each on their plates. James wasn't sure he liked their eating habits. Eight years old and already in high school, proper etiquette was a necessity. He usually let Anne deal with their antics and if it didn't bother her then he would tolerate it. For now...

A patter of nimble, light-footed steps brought James attention away from his paper. His Kimmie Cub bounded into the kitchen with her hair billowing behind her like some auburn cape. "Morning, Daddy." Feeling privileged above all else, Kimberly placed a kiss on his cheek first before giving salutations to the rest of the family. His heart would soar at the sound of her voice. This girl, which had sprung partially from his loins, was the apple of his eye and one of the reasons that made him so proud to have been born a Possible. Not even eighteen and Kim was already doing great things. She was already known throughout the world and had been accepted into several of the finest college institutions. She'd yet to make her choice, though James had hoped she would follow in his footsteps and go to M.I.S.T, but whatever her decision he knew it would be the right one for her and that everyone would benefit from it.

She was dressed and ready to go. Donning a tan pair of pants with a short-sleeved pink shirt with a heart insignia in the middle, Kim was at that stage in a girl's life when she was just ready to step into womanhood. Hard to believe that she was his little girl not that long ago. Who was he kidding? Kim would always be his little girl.

"Sleep well, Kimmie?" He asked, as he switched over to another section of the paper.

Kim had served herself some pancakes. "More or less. A helicopter woke me up last night. Someone should really tell those flyboys not to drive so low."

James stopped what he was readying. He peeked at Kim over the top of the paper. "Was that the only thing you heard last night?"

"Just the usual convoy that comes by every night at 2 A.M." Taking a bite, Kim chewed thoroughly before speaking again. "Have you seen some of the firepower those guys are packing? It's like they're preparing for an invasion."

"What makes you say that?"

"I've been to countries where military readiness borders on all-out hostilities. There haven't been this many ground troops in Middleton since 9-11."

Kim was right. There were a lot of prime targets in Middleton. In addition to the space center, it was also home to one of the world's top medical facilities and many of the finest scientific minds on the planet called Middleton home. Being the home of world-renowned heroine Kim Possible, it wouldn't surprise James if Middleton High was on the list of top priority targets. Lord knows she made enough enemies in her ventures. Of course he was confident that Kimmie could look after herself. But what about her fellow students?

"This is all because of that new project your father's working on," Anne Possible said as she provided her husband with his cup of coffee. Joining him at the table, Anne looked to James for clarification. "The military must be pretty interested in whatever it is you're working on."

"Dad's working on a top secret project," one of the boys, Tim, said. "It's really high-tech,"

"And dangerous," Jim completed for his brother.

Suspicion entered into James' voice. "How do you boys know that?" For their sake, he hoped it wasn't through illegal means.

"Duh," they said as one. "When is it never..."

"...high-tech and dangerous?" Jim and Tim said, respectively.

"They've got you there," Anne added with a teasing lilt to her voice.

Giving them that, James took a sip of his coffee.

"So Dad," Kim began, "Any hints on what's going on down at the center?"

"Kimmie Cub, you know I'm under the strictest confidentiality. I signed an agreement that expressly forbids me from divulging any information about what I'm working on," James said in business-like manner. "I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to."

"But you really want to." Kim leaned over in her chair. "I can see it in your eyes."

"She's right, honey." Anne rested her delicate chin on milky hands. "You have that glint in your eye."

"What glint?" James responded defensively.

"The one that says..."

"...you've got a secret you want to tell."

James frowned at the boys.

"So..." Kim pressed.

"So what?"

"Is there anything you can tell us?"

"You know I can't."

"Cause then he'd have to kill us," Jim said.

"With extreme prejudice," Tim added.

"That true, hon?"

"I'm not even supposed to be talking about it, just to let you know. I can face serious consequences just for discussing it outside the center."

"But you haven't _discussed_ anything with us." Kim looked to her brother and her mom who nodded. "It's not that big a secret. Everyone in Middleton knows something big is going down at the space center. How we not when there are tanks and trucks and helicopters occupying every free space between here and the airport?"

"Not to mention the checkpoints," Tim said.

"And the cavity searches," Jim said.

"What cavity searches?" Anne turned on her two sons. "Did somebody touch you?"

"No. But it's no big deal, Mom."

"Yeah. Jim and I haven't had cavities yet so we're good."

"Haven't had...oh!" Anne's face lit up with realization. Kim stifled a giggle while James rolled his eyes. For all their technical and engineering brilliance, Jim and Tim were still just kids. There was so much they had yet to understand and for their sake, as much to the mirth of their mother, father, and big sister, the Possibles prayed they retained that innocence for just a bit longer.

James looked left and right as if he was being watched. Seeing his family's gaze upon him, James bent his head, putting one hand to the side of his chin to stifle his voice from carrying too far. "Look, all I can say is that we're on the verge of a real breakthrough." His family leaned in close to hear him clearly. "What we're doing can change the course of human civilization as we know it. Just keep that between yourselves."

"That's all?" Anne asked; feeling disappointed.

"That's all you're getting," James replied with a smug look on his face.

"Careful, James." Anne lifted it a fork and twirled it in a figure-eight motion. "We have ways of making you talk."

Feeling he had said too much already, and that his wife would make good on the imposed threat, James decided it was best to hit that old dusty trail. "I think it's about time I get going."

"But you haven't even had breakfast yet," Anne protested.

"Sorry, honey." James kissed her on the cheek. "Got a lot of work to do. I can always get myself something at the cafeteria." He said goodbye to his boys. "Jim. Tim. You kids mind your mother and sister while I'm gone. You're the men of the house."

"Does that mean we can," Tim started to ask when James cut him off. "No."

"But you haven't even," Jim began.

"No."

"But..." they said together.

"No!" James spoke with finality and the boys 'huffed' audibly before crossing their little arms. Coming around to Kim, James gave her a peck on the forehead. "Be good, Kimmie."

"Aren't I always?"

Whispering so that only she could hear, James said, "Mind your brothers."

"Sure thing, Dad."

Anne joined her husband at the front door to see him off. They kissed and James picked his coat from off the rack before nearly running over Ron Stoppable who was just about to knock on the door. "Whoa! Hey, Dr. P."

"Good morning, Ronald. Sorry to hit and run, but I've got to go." James waved himself off. "Goodbye."

After getting in his car and driving away, James used the On-Star feature in his car to contact the space center. He promised them he'd be there a little early but had wanted to keep his peers updated nonetheless. A familiar voice picked up on the other line. "Ramesh. It's Possible. Just wanted to let you guys know I'm on my way over."

"Good to hear your voice, James." Ramesh spoke with a thick Indian accent customary to his native Delhi. "Wait until you see some of the calculations Michael and I came up with last night. If it all matches up, I believe we will be able to activate the gate tonight."

Michael Chen, like Dr. Ramesh, was one of the top astronomers in his field. They were also two of James' longtime friends and former roommates back at M.I.S.T. Working with them again reminded James of why he loved what he did so much.

"Here's hoping." James beamed. "I'll see you in a few."

"Ten-four." Ramesh signed off.

When James reached the space center, he passed the military checkpoint that stopped all cars entering and leaving the facility. James offered up his I.D. badge and even said hello to the soldier stationed there. The grunt didn't reply and just motioned for James to move along. James knew the army was here to keep tabs on its investment, but that didn't mean their men had to be so anti-social. Passing the heavily-guarded gate that cut the center off from the rest of the world, James was only reminded of another equally important reason he wanted to complete this project so badly. The sooner they were finished, the faster the army could leave.

* * *

The sloth passed an army truck that was heading in the other direction. Kim watched it go through her side mirror, seeing it turn the next corner that would take it downtown. That was the third truck they'd passed and they were only halfway to school.

"What's up, KP?"

Kim gave her boyfriend an uncomfortable shrug. "Oh nothing. It's just that Middleton's starting to feel like an occupied country."

"Yeah. We freed enough of those to know what one looks like."

Ron's comment got Kim thinking. While the army made it a point to stay out the way of the locals, it was hard to ignore so many heavily-armed vehicles carrying men who likewise carried enough firepower to level a city block. Granted most of them were stationed in or around the Middleton Space Center, which meant that checkpoints would increase the closer one came to that facility. They pretty much left the rest of Middleton in peace which was fine by Kim. But for every truck she saw, every armored jeep driving down Main Street, or helicopter that buzzed over their homes in the middle of the night, Kim felt a growing sense of ire that all was not right with the world.

Kim knew for a fact that not even the President garnered this much security during state visits, so what was so important as to turn Middleton into a veritable boot camp?

When they arrived at their school, Kim exited the driver side and looked up at the massive billboard that lorded over the rest of the campus. KEEP YOUR HEADS DOWN...in large black letters reminded Kim that all was not quiet on the Western Front. In fact, it felt like Middleton had become a powder keg that was ready to blow. Perhaps, and she thought this apprehensively, she should take the billboard up on its advice.

A honking horn followed by the roar of an engine drew her attention away from her misgivings. A lovely brunette in a teal-colored convertible rolled up beside Kim's sloth. The new car smell was intoxicating and for a moment even Kim was too dazzled by the vehicle before her to notice the driver's condescending smirk.

"Hey, Kim. Still driving that four-wheeled crap box, I see." Bonnie removed her sunglasses which, Kim noticed, were studded with what looked like real diamonds. _Gaudy much?_

Of course, Bonnie had no idea of the sloth's true capabilities. Recent additions by her brainy brothers had made the sloth the most dangerous (for the villains) and reliable vehicle on the road. Kim had no doubt that despite the difference in aesthetics, her sloth could outdo Bonnie's convertible in every plausible category.

"Let me guess," Kim started as Bonnie turned off the engine. "Junior's latest display of affection?"

Bonnie stepped out of the car. "He's so cute." Looking at Ron she added, "And rich."

"I was rich once," Ron defended.

"Once doesn't cut it, Ronnie."

Kim raised an accusing finger." Don't call him Ronnie!"

"Ooh. Jealous much?"

"Jealous?" Kim's asked incredulously. "Of what?"

"Of not having the greatest boyfriend in the world."

"It takes more than money to make a boyfriend, _Bonnie_!" She growled out that last word.

"You're right, Kim." Removing her needlessly expensive glasses, Bonnie scrutinized Ron before turning on Kim. "A lot more." She put the glasses back on, turned, and strutted her way over to the entrance. Bonnie raised her hand over her shoulder and pressed the alert button on her car keys. In an instant, the convertible erected a protective barrier of sheet metal over the exposed side. Built-in clamps shut down over the wheels and the entire vehicle looked like it had been wrapped in a thin but powerful layer of steel. "Security system activated," a robotic voice announced.

"Cooooo_ooooooool_!" Ron's exclamation drew an eye-rolling gesture from Kim. She watched him approach the protected vehicle, raising a finger to touch it.

_"Unrecognized meatbag! Step away from the vehicle!"_

"Meatbag?" Ron crossed his arms. "Who you calling a meatbag?"

"Ron,"

_"Step away from the vehicle."_

"I'm not touching it."

"Ron,"

_"This is your last warning."_

"Ron!"

Looking over at Kim, Ron didn't have time to see the metal arms snake their way from underneath the convertible. They coiled in preparation to deal with the intruder. "I find that meatbag comment derogatory and insult..._ieeeeeeahhhh!"_ Ron was cut off-though he did scream-as the arms grabbed him by the shoulders and lifted him up. They twirled him around for good measure before throwing the hapless, freckled youth through the nearest window. Fortunately, the window had been opened, but the commotion caused by Ron's sudden entry resulted in a very familiar but angry voice speaking out.

"Stoppable! My notes!"

Kim sighed. Of all the windows, in all the schools, in all the world, he had to go through Mr. Barkin's.

She would have to go in to settle things before Barkin put Ron on permanent detention. The robotic arms slithered back into their default state. _"Meatbag disposed off. Switching to taunt mode. Ha-ha. Ha-ha."_

_Seriously, Bonnie?_

Kim hoisted her bag over her shoulder and went inside.

* * *

The day had passed pretty much like any other day. Aside from the customary spitball-dodging session in math class, which Kim attributed to her profound skill at dodging projectiles, the only other exercise she had to look forward to that day was cheerleader practice. Kim always enjoyed this activity as it was a place where she could really perfect her skills. She'd developed her own unique brand of martial arts by combining ancient kung-fu forms with her cheerleading; it was a mesh that proved ludicrously effective during her missions. Whereas most of her opponents relied on brute strength or numbers, Kim relied on speed, dexterity, flexibility and a thinking outside the box mentality that worked to her advantage every time. She owed everything she learned to the times spent with the girls both in the auditorium and on the field.

Right now they were in the latter, going through routines that had become second nature to the squad. They were a tight-knit group in a professional sense. The Middleton Mad Dogs were the best of the best because they knew how to put their differences aside and work together. Of course there were those who understood this better than most...and then there was Bonnie Rockwaller.

Watching from the stands, Monique flinched as Kim came down hard when her spotter, Bonnie, failed to catch her on time. Actually, Bonnie had been distracted when one of the football players had had trouble pulling off his shirt, giving her a look at his glistening chest. This meant that she wasn't there for Kim when she needed her to be alert and ready. It was a good thing they were practicing on the grass. Otherwise, Kim would have been unable to get up and properly scold Bonnie for her discretion without being sent to the infirmary first.

"BONNIE!"

She was so loud that Bonnie visibly jumped back. "Geez, Kim! I'm not deaf."

Rubbing her backside, Kim could hardly walk for the first few seconds. She only managed to stumble over to Bonnie who was giving her a "What's with you" look.

"You were supposed to catch me!" Kim argued. "As in not LET ME FALL!"

"Oh..." Bonnie seemed genuinely embarrassed by the situation and crossed her hands behind her back. "Sorry."

"Sorry doesn't pop my spine back into place." As Kim said that, she straightened herself up, creating an audible _crack_ while she did so. "What were you doing?"

"Can I help if there's so much man-candy around? I'm only a woman, Kim. There's only so much temptation I can take."

"What about Junior?" Kim scolded.

Bonnie scoffed. "Kim! We can't all be lucky enough to have our boy toys working out right next to us." She motioned to the players huddling on the opposite side of the field. Ron was among them.

"Ron is not a boy toy."

"Riiiight." Bonnie's tone was patronizing. "You're just happening to date the Middleton Running Back."

Kim stepped right up to Bonnie. "For your information, _Bonnie_, I happen to like Ron for who he is."

"Uh-huh," she countered. "And he likes you for your brains." Bonnie poked Kim on the nose and pushed her away. "They're boys, Kimmie. They're only after one thing. This." Bonnie struck a sensual pose that accentuated her hip and displayed a healthy showing of her bare legs.

"You are such a prima donna." Wanting to have this conversation over and done with, Kim turned to the other girls who until that moment had been watching the exchange with great interest. Watching Kim and Bonnie fight was always entertaining. The two were so much alike in that they were both popular, headstrong, and believed they knew better than everybody else that it was a wonder they didn't just cancel each other out of existence.

"Kay, guys," Kim clapped, and winced at the same time as the gesture caused the pain in her back to resurface. "That's all for today. See you tomorrow."

As the team dispersed, Kim noticed a very sad face among them. Tara lagged behind the rest of the group as they made for the locker rooms. Kim approached her from behind. "Tara. Is something wrong?"

Tara didn't seem to hear her and Kim had to poke her on the shoulder for her to turn around. "Huh? Oh. Hi, Kim."

"Are you okay?" Kim asked even though she could tell she was not.

"Is it that obvious?"

"It's being broadcast on a hundred channels." Kim admitted. "Want to talk about it?"

Tara looked torn between accepting Kim's offer and turning it down. She accepted. Tara walked her over to the side of the fence just next to the bleachers and waited for all the girls to have left before speaking. "It's Josh." Tara leaned against the fence. "I'm thinking of breaking up with him."

Green eyes widened at the revelation. "Are you serious?"

"I know it's weird. Everyone says we're the perfect couple."

Kim didn't recall having actually said that but guessed that "everyone" meant the popular crowd. In the dog-eat-dog social hierarchy that was the Middleton High Food Chain, it mattered what people said or thought about you. As a member of the cheer squad, Tara's position with the Food Chain was at the upper echelon. While she rarely socialized outside the squad, Tara's status earned her the respect and envy of so many others. Partner her up with Josh Mankey, one of the most popular boys at school, and it was no wonder she feared what the gossip machine might do to her.

Then Kim reminded herself that this was not Bonnie. Tara had a soul, which meant that this decision was probably eating her up inside. Aside from that brief separation when they went to the Junior Prom with somebody else, she seemed to like Josh a lot. What changed?

"Did he do something?" Kim dared to ask. She couldn't imagine Josh doing anything even remotely harmful to Tara. Then again, she and Josh had only been out once or twice. What did she really know about him?

"No. Josh is perfect. And that's the problem."

"Okay. You're going to need to explain that to me."

Tara glanced around as if to make sure that no one would be eavesdropping. Confident they were alone, she began to explain. "You remember what you told Bonnie a minute ago, about liking Ron for who he is?" Kim nodded. "Well that's the thing. Josh is great and all but he's popular, and by extension so am I. We're dating only because it's expected of us."

Kim knew where this was going but allowed Tara to continue.

"It's like, do I like Josh for who he is or only because I'm supposed to? The more time we've spent together, the more I realized that while I do like Josh, I don't like-like him. I don't want to be with a guy because I'm supposed to. I want to be with him because I want to." Tara looked her in the eye. "You understand, don't you?"

"Totally. But have you spoken to Josh about how you feel?"

Tara pushed a golden lock out of her eye in a nervous gesture of indecisiveness. "No."

"So you're just going to dump him without even considering how he feels?"

"I know how he feels about me, Kim."

"Do you?"

Tara's head shot up.

"Look, from what little time I've spent with Josh, I learned that he's a pretty emotional guy. He can be a little full of himself at times, but as far as high school guys go, Josh is a real catch." Seeing Tara's eyes widen, Kim held up her hands. "I mean don't take this the wrong way, but he's a real nice guy. I think you should sit down with Josh and have a real serious talk before you make any decision. I mean...say you dump Josh, I mean just throw him to the curb. How do you think that would make you look?"

"Kind of shallow, I guess."

"You're a nice girl, Tara. I don't want the gossip machine spreading rumors that you're that kind of girl."

"You mean like Bonnie, don't you?"

Kim was taken aback. "What?"

"You think I'm starting to become like Bonnie?"

"I don't think you're anything like her. In fact, I know you're not." Looking back on it, Bonnie never had a lot of boyfriends to begin with so she wasn't the dumping machine that Tara suggested she was. Besides Brick Flagg, Junior was the only steady boyfriend Kim could recall her ever having. It wasn't a fair example and Kim dismissed it altogether. "Look Tara, I don't want to tell you how to do things. You've got to do what your heart tells you and if it's saying you don't want to be with Josh then let him down easy. But just...consider him, okay?"

Tara thought over it and after a few moments she nodded. "Okay, Kim. I'll think about it." She began to head for the lockers when she stopped. "Kim?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

Kim watched her walk away before turning to the bleachers. Monique was waiting for her and tapped the empty spot next to her for Kim to sit down. As Kim approached her, she noticed Justine Flanner at the top of the stands. She had a laptop open and was typing away. Kim gazed at her for a moment, shrugged, and joined her best friend at the bottom.

"What was up with Tara?"

"Just a pep talk." Kim felt that that conversation had been a private one and shouldn't be televised to the world. For all her virtues, Monique was a blabbermouth and couldn't keep a secret to save her life. "Tara's been a little down lately. She just needed someone to cheer her up."

"What about you?" She said.

"Oh this?" She rubbed her lower back. "It's nothing. I get worse falls on missions."

Monique didn't find that difficult to believe at all. She reclined as far back as she could and crossed her legs. "Ever think about hanging up the belt?"

"Not in the foreseeable future." Kim mimicked her friend's posture, though had to take certain precautions given that she was wearing a skirt. After smoothing out her skirt, Kim reclined. "Why?"

"College is coming up."

"I hadn't noticed," Kim mocked.

"I'm just saying." The ebony girl shrugged. "It won't be easy saving the world when you have a thesis to write. Not to mention Ron."

At that Kim sat up straight. "What about Ron?"

"You remember when came out of Barkin's office, the big man yelling at him at the top of his lungs?"

"Yeah."

Now Monique sat up. "I was passing by just before it happened. I heard Mr. B grilling Ron about how he had yet to prepare for his college entrance exams. He was supposed to go to tutoring but hasn't shown up once. Without those grades, the best Ron can hope for is community college, and unless you plan to join him I don't think you'll be seeing much of each other."

"Ron told me he took his GRE already and was waiting on results."

Monique spread her arms. "Well then either Barkin was wrong, which is unlikely since he's the one who tutors the students to take the GRE exams..."

"Or Ron lied to me." Kim's face turned a slight shade of red. She wasn't blushing.

Monique shied away. "Guess I should have kept my mouth shut."

"No it's good that you told me." Looking over at Ron across the field, the redhead could feel her blood boiling. "Looks like we need to have a talk."

"Please don't kill him, Kim."

"He's lucky that's all I do to him." At her sides, Kim's fingers began to clench.

It was the afternoon. The sun began its slow descent across the heavens. All across Middleton, the work day was drawing to a close. Pretty soon it would be time to go home and spend time with friends and family. It all seemed so ordinary until a helicopter flew overhead. Kim recognized the sleek and aerodynamic design of the craft long before she saw the green color and the white star insignia of the United States Army. Seeing that helicopter, watching as it buzzed the field and momentarily drew the attention of everyone still outside, Kim could not help but think back to what her father said. What sort of breakthrough required such a show of force? Was her dad even working for the civilian government anymore?

"Kim?"

"Huh?"

"You okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, though in truth, Kim wasn't so sure of that. Not so sure at all.

* * *

When Ron finished practicing, Kim suggested that she and he go grab a bite at Bueno Nacho. Ron was ecstatic of course, thinking he lucked out by nabbing himself the best girlfriend in the world. In truth, Kim wanted to give him a false sense of security by lulling him into a familiar place. When he was at his most vulnerable, and therefore less likely to think up excuses, she would confront him about the examination thing.

She had invited Monique but was politely refused. Monique would rather not be there when the fur started to fly.

As the couple, plus Rufus, made their way over to the Bueno Nacho, they found the place near empty. Kim sat herself at their usual booth while Ron ordered up his usual with Rufus whispering additions into his ear. She waited until she sat down, a tray of nacos and chimaritos nearly blocking her view of her overly-indulgent boyfriend. "Time to dive in, Rufus."

Using Ron's head as a diving board, the naked mole rat hopped, once, twice, before leaping off, performing a perfect somersault into the stack of food. His pink head appeared a moment later before going back in; the chomping sounds could be heard throughout the store.

"Ron," Kim started.

"Relax, KP. I split your order from ours so that it's still in one piece." Ron divided a small portion of the meal, about one-eighth in total, and gave it to Kim. "See? Always putting you first."

"Now if only you would do the same for yourself," Kim muttered.

"What's that?" When Ron spoke his mouth was already filled with food so it sounded more like "Wafftt fhheatt?"

"Nothing." Kim decided it best to let him gorge himself for now. No sense ruining his appetite. They ate in silence. Or rather Kim did. Ron and Rufus ate like, well, animals. Looking to divert her attention away from the argument she knew was coming, Kim spotted Ned mopping the floor. He had worked his way close enough that she was able to shoot over a greeting call. "Hey, Ned. How's it going?"

Hearing his name called by a voice as sultry as Kim's froze Ned in his tracks. He looked around, not seeing any particularly attractive girls-this was a fast-food place afterall. When he spotted Kim and Ron at the booth, Ned nearly stumbled over himself coming over. "Kim! Hi!" He looked at Ron. "Hey, Ron."

"Shffup?" Ron spat back.

"So Kim! How's it going? Haven't seen you guys in a while. Everything okay?"

"Everything's fine, Ned. How are you?"

"Meh. Can't complain. Okay, actually I can. My promotion was denied...again!" Ned slumped against his broom.

Kim's sympathy was genuine. "Sorry to hear that."

"What does it take to impress the bigwigs? I've devoted my life to Bueno Nacho. I've poured my blood, my sweat and my tears into every naco and chimarito ever made."

"You mean that figuratively, right?"

"If only I did."

Ron stopped eating in mid-chomp and looked down at the mess that was his tray. Sweat? Blood? Tears? So that tang in the salsa wasn't really salsa?

"I mean okay, so I didn't invent the naco and I didn't save the company from a hostile takeover by a villain with a mad-on for little Diablos. But I'm still a hard worker, dammit! This place is all I have."

"There's always school," Kim suggested.

"I'm not one for studying. Never have been. Never will be. Without Bueno Nacho I am nothing. This chain is my life and I'm committed to its upkeep ninety-eight percent."

"What happened to the other two percent?"

"Bathroom breaks."

"Ah." She nodded.

Ned sighed. "I guess I'll just be assistant manager of a Mexican-themed food chain for the rest of my life."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Ned. You have plenty going for you."

"I do?"

"Yeah. You are very...um...you can...er...what I mean is..." Now would be a good time to put her foot in her mouth. Fortunately for her, Kim was flexible enough to do just that. If only the table weren't in the way.

"I get it. I'm a loser."

Kim kicked Ron underneath the table, her eyes pleading for him to help her out here. Ron swallowed a huge gulp of food before regarding Ned. "That is the cleanest floor I have ever seen."

Ned looked up. "You mean it?"

"Would the Ron Man lie?"

Both Ned and Kim raised an eyebrow.

"That was a rhetorical question," he said in his defense.

But Ned turned away just the same. "I know you're just saying that to make me feel better. But let's face it. I'll always what I am. Nothing more. Nothing less. Though generally less if this economy has anything to say about." Defeated, Ned began to slink away, dragging his broom behind him.

Kim looked to Ron, pleading with him to say something else. But Ron was already and approaching Ned. He grabbed the flimsy boy from behind and turned him around, showing surprising strength. "Now you listen to me, Ned." Ron put on his serious face. "You got the makings of greatness in you. But you got to take the helm and chart your own course. Stick to it no matter the squalls! And when the time comes you get the chance to really test the cut of your sails...and show what you're made of...well," Ron stepped back and closed his eyes. He spread his arms out wide as if welcoming the first breeze of summer onto his body. "I hope I'm there catching some of the light coming off you that day."

The power in Ron's words was such that Ned's eyes began to water. He wiped it away quickly, though it didn't change from the fact that Ron believed him, even more than Ned did himself. Opening his eyes, Ron found a very grateful Ned who didn't know what to say other than, "Thanks, Ron." He walked away, still blurry-eyed but filled with a newfound determination that wouldn't show until he was in the privacy of his own thoughts.

Returning to the booth, Kim forgot all the things she wanted to say to Ron and just gazed at him with newfound admiration. "That was beautiful, Ron."

"I can be encouraging when I want to be."

"But it was so powerful, so passionate. I never knew you had it in you."

He shrugged. "Yeah. Though I think John Silver said it with a bit more flair."

Kim had heard that name before. "Wait a minute. Long John Silver? As in the _pirate_?"

Taking another chimarito, Ron began to dog it down. "Uh-fhuh," he muttered.

Kim scowled. "Ron! You motivated Ned with a line stolen from a Robert Louis Stevenson novel?"

"Who's Robert Louis Stevenson?"

"Who's Rob...he's the author!" She blurted out.

"I forgot the director's name," Ron admitted. "But it was a good movie."

"Movie?"

"Treasure Planet, KP. A real coming of age story." Ron tapped his fist against his left breast. "Gets you right here."

"Ron," Kim suddenly remembered everything she wanted to say to at that moment. "We need to talk."

"Sure." Then his eyes bulged. Every man dreaded the "We need to talk" line. It was engraved into their very psyche. Ron found it difficult to swallow at that moment; he had to physically contract his neck muscles just to force the food down.

"Kim."

Both booth occupants turned to find Justine Flanner standing at their table. She was hugging her laptop to her chest and had a look of genuine concerned stenciled on her face.

"Justine?"

"Can we talk?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm kind of,"

"It's important." Justine had the look of a woman who had something to say and would not be silenced. "Please."

It went against her nature to turn someone away so Kim begrudgingly gave up her seat and moved over to Ron's side of the booth. Justine sat down across from them, ignoring the pink rodent on the tray that was slumbering away as a result of his own gluttony. "This concerns the Middleton Space Center."

"What about it?"

"People have been talking. I'm sure you've noticed how excessive the military presence has become." As if on cue, a caravan of army units drove by the Bueno Nacho. One of was an APC; its passing sent a tremor rumbling through the chain store and subsided only when it was a good two blocks away. "It's getting worse."

"Look, I'm not happy about it either, but whatever they're doing at the center obviously calls for a lot of security."

"What are they doing exactly?"

"Huh?"

Justine had placed her laptop to the side. She got up slightly so as to lean over the table. "What...are they doing?" She asked again.

"What makes you think I know?"

"Your father works at the center, doesn't he?"

"So?"

Justine sat back down. There was an accusing look to her face that made Kim feel uncomfortable. "It's only logical to assume that Middleton's top rocket scientist would be involved with whatever it is they're up to."

"What are you insinuating?"

"I take it your father hasn't told you anything."

"No," she answered flatly.

"You know what I think?" Justine leaned over again. "I think something's about to go down. Tonight."

"What are you talking about?" Then Kim asked. "Do you know something?"

"All this increased security can only mean one thing. Something big is about to happen and the military wants to clamp down on possible leaks."

"I believe that's procedure."

"You don't understand. Here, let me show you something." Justine reached over to her laptop and opened the flap. Kim and Ron exchanged concerned looks. "Take a look." Justine flipped the laptop so that they would see the screen. It was a blank page with an error message on it. "No signal."

"Maybe it's just a bad connection," Ron suggested. "I mean computers have problems all the time w..." he paused when he noticed the hard glare across the table.

"I don't get bad connections."

"Some kind of interference?" Kim asked.

"Good guess, Possible. Only it's not civilian."

"How can you be sure?"

"I was able to get online this morning. I've been hacking into satellites and trying to zero in on the space center mainframe by piggy-backing onto one of their signals."

"That's illegal, Justine," Kim almost snapped.

She went on. "Not when the government is keeping secrets. I almost made it through when I was cut off completely."

"You probably activated a firewall or something. Those computers have pre-installed safety measures to keep hackers out."

"Kim, I once built a kinomatic continuum disruptor that could tear a hole into the fabric of space and time. A _working_ one. You were there. You saw it."

"We all did," Ron added.

"My point is," she glared at him for interrupting, "do you really think that I couldn't work my way around a few firewalls without being seen?"

"Point taken."

"Thank you. Now this has been going on for the past few hours. I thought that by finding a higher elevation point I'd be able to at least get something."

"Which is why you were at the bleachers," Kim recalled.

"With no luck. Then something hit me and I tried something else." Justine took out her cellular phone. "I called my mother."

Ron and Kim looked at each other. "O-kay. And?"

"I got through. But here's the thing: I tried to contact my uncle who lives just outside of Denver and couldn't do it. My cousin in lives Colorado Springs and I couldn't reach him either. I tried mom again and wouldn't you it, I got through! I was even able to get dad on the line."

"You're losing me, Justine."

A hand slapped Justine's forehead in frustration. "Don't you get it? The army has erected a dead zone around the tri-city area. Only local calls can go through, but anything outside the city limits; cell phones, wi-fi, twitter, internet, game consoles, it's all been completely cut off. A complete information blackout."

Ron took out his phone. "I think she's onto something, KP," he said after a few moments of pushing buttons.

Following his example, Kim tried to look up the news on her cellular phone. When that didn't work she tried check up travel information. She even tried to get the weekly forecast with no success.

"Need I say more?" Justine closed her laptop. "Did your father tell you anything that might hint at what they were doing? Nothing that involves this much secrecy can be a good thing."

Kim put her phone away and closed her eyes.

"Kim?" Justine continued to press her for information.

"He said they were on the verge of a breakthrough." Her eyes opened.

"Is that all?"

"Isn't that enough. He's under a confidentiality contract, Justine. He wasn't even supposed to tell me that."

"I knew it!" Justine banged a fist on the table. The thud stirred Rufus slightly, but then the mole rat scratched his belly, turned to his side and went back to sleep. "It's a conspiracy."

"Justine..."

"It's the truth. They're hiding something from us." She looked away to think. "And I'm going to find out." She said that last part aloud even though she was talking to herself. "I have to go." Justine grabbed her computer.

"Hold it!" Kim grabbed Justine's arm before she could run away. "What are you going to do?"

"To burst this bubble wide open." She removed herself from Kim's grasp and left the store.

Looking back at Ron, Kim shook her head. "I don't know. What do you think?"

"All I know is I can't get Drudge Report."

Kim sat down on the seat Justine just vacated. "It all sounds like a conspiracy theory to me."

"Those are usually true, by the way." Ron was strangling his phone. "And I'd show you if I could only bring up Drudge Report!"

While she and Justine had never been close-they hadn't even spoken to one another after that science project they worked on together-Kim didn't know her to be a liar or crazed theorist looking for attention. Justine was a precise as she was practical and given that this whole thing had spooked her gave Kim cause for concern. A strong military presence plus a media blackout equals total disaster.

And one conspiracy theory plus no answers equaled one very worried Kim Possible.

* * *

The ride home had been a somber one. Kim was too busy considering Justine's theories to have that serious talk with Ron. Having gorged himself at Bueno Nacho, Ron seemed to content to get some shut-eye and Kim indulged him. She had a lot of her mind and knew that there was only one person could put her fears to rest.

Once she dropped him and Rufus off at the Stoppable household, Kim went straight for home and parked the sloth in the garage. She had just entered the living room when she heard her mother call out to her. "Kimmie, is that you?"

"Hi, Mom. Sorry I'm late. I got hung over at Bueno Nacho." She kicked off her shoes, eager to feel the soft carpeting of the living room floor beneath her feet.

Mom appeared out of the kitchen. "Kim, it's your father."

Kim was caught half-stride to the stairs where she planned to have herself a shower before getting something to eat. It's not so much what Anne Possible said as in how she looked when Kim saw her. She looked concerned.

"What is it?" Kim feared the worse. Had Justine's seeds of doubt and impending doom taken root this quickly?

"He won't be coming home tonight. He wanted me to tell you and the boys so you don't worry about him."

Kim Possible released the gasp she didn't even know she'd been holding. "Geez, Mom. I thought something bad had happened. Don't scare me like that."

"It's not that, Kim." She watched her mother walk over to the living room couch and sitting herself down. Kim joined her just as soon as she saw her mother's eyes sink to the floor. "I've known you father for twenty-one years. I can tell when something's bothering him."

Kim crossed one leg under her as she sat. "Did he say anything?"

"It's what he didn't say." Anne looked at her daughter, her brow anxious. "I think something must have gone wrong at the center. He mentioned that they were on lockdown and that nobody was allowed in or out until the situation was resolved."

Kim covered her mouth.

"He says it's standard procedure during high-profile experiments. You know how your father always falls back on procedures when he feels uncomfortable."

Kim nodded, recalling how her father emphasized his oath to secrecy when the family pressed him on the finer details of the project at breakfast this morning.

"When did he call you?" Kim asked.

"This morning. It wasn't long after you and Ron left for school."

_That long ago?_ "Have you tried talking to him since?"

She shook her head dejectedly. "He's working inside a highly secure facility that prevents incoming or outgoing calls. Your dad said he'd be shutting off his phone after he finished speaking with me and that we won't be able to contact him until the lockdown has been lifted."

Kim thought back. If the lockdown happened this morning then...then the timeframe would coincide with Justine's story.

"I need to check on something." She kissed her mother on the check "Thanks, Mom," and went upstairs to her room. Once she had some privacy, Kim took out her cellular phone and hit speed dial. A prerecorded message came up not two seconds later. _"We're sorry, the number you have called: 561-822-9-,"_

Kim hung up. "I can't reach Nana," she muttered. She tried reaching her uncle and Joss up in Montana with the same results. Justine was right. Middleton was right. Middleton was completely cut off from the rest of the world. She needed to get on this right away. Luckily, her greatest asset lived right within the city limits. Kim activated her wrist kimmunicator. For a moment she feared the blackout has suddenly become total as there was nothing but static for the first few seconds...then Wade's face appeared, all sweaty and gasping.

"Wade!" Kim began.

"Kim I...came as soon...as I heard the...the signal." His head dropped for a moment as he tried to collect himself.

"What happened to you?"

"Mom...slave driver...got me lifting boxes and...cleaning..._whoo._" He sat himself down to take a breather. "Cleaning the garage. Haven't had...chance to sit...all day."

"So you mean you haven't checked your computers lately?"

That caused Wade to sit up straight, as if even the notion that his precious hardware could be in trouble overruled his need for rest. "Why?"

"There's been a communications blackout placed over the tri-city area. Access to the internet is gone and don't even think about making calls outside the city limits."

"Since we're talking, I'm guessing that leaves local calls."

"Take that away and people might get suspicious."

Wade checked something on his console; his sweaty, chubby fingers danced like a ballerina over the keyboard. "If my readings are correct, and they always are," he added with a sense of pride, "it's not just the tri-city area but the whole county. We've been taken off the grid completely."

"That settles it."

"What?"

Kim realized she said that personal thought aloud. "Wade, there's something I have to tell you." Once she had him all caught up, Kim waited for his opinion on the matter.

"Whoa. This is heavy."

Not what she wanted to hear, but it was a lot to drop in his lap all of a sudden so she forgave him his understatement. She spoke her next question hesitantly. "Wade...is there any way you can patch me through to my dad?"

Wade considered it a moment. "It won't be easy. The center is one of the most secure facilities on the planet. Hacking into their phone lines won't be easy."

"Just...please, Wade."

"I'll try, Kim. I'll also see if I can out what they've been up to in there."

"Please and thank you."

"I'll call back when I find something."

After Wade signed off, Kim collapsed on her bed. She'd half a mind to just go over to the center and demand to speak to her father upfront. But even she wasn't reckless enough to up against the U.S. military. If Wade had any luck she wouldn't have to resort to force to uncover the secrets inside the space center. Right now, all Kim could do was be patient.

* * *

A familiar four-ring tone brought Kim back from an uneasy rest. She realized that she had fallen asleep on the bed without so much as changing into her pajamas. Kim sat up. It was dark outside. The clock read it 9:53 in the evening. She slept clear past dinner and hadn't even started her homework yet. Amazing how worrying so much could drain the mind and body of strength.

_Beep-Beep-BeepBeep!_

Her hand instinctively came up to her face and she hit the on button. "Wade?" Her hair was a mess and her eyes carried enough baggage to go on a cruise, but she was up...

"Kim! I just got your dad on the line."

...and now she was alert. "Seriously?"

"The signal is weak and I can't keep you connected for long. Just make it quick, okay?" Wade typed something. "Putting him through now!" Wade's face and bedroom vanished in a hail of static. There was no incoming picture, but verbal communication was possible. "D-Daddy?"

"Kimmie Cub?" Her father sounded stressed and she could imagine his features looked no livelier than her own at the moment. "Kim is that you?"

"I'm here, daddy." She breathed a sigh of relief. "It's great to hear from you. Mom said the center was on lockdown. Is everything okay?"

"Kim...something has happened. The situation is contained for now but...I want you to stay as far from the center as possible. Do you understand?"

Her face was one big question mark.

"Kim?"

"I'm here."

"Did you hear me? Keep away from the space center. Do not come no matter what happens. I need to know that you will do this for me, Kimmie."

"Dad, what's wrong?"

"Nothing I can explain to you right now. I just want you to promise me. _Promise_ me you won't come to the space center."

"O-Okay, Dad. I promise." It killed her that she couldn't see his face. He sounded so haggard.

"Good. It makes me feel better knowing that you're safe. I know you'd come if I..." the static overcame his last words.

"Dad? Dad!"

"...y from here." His voice returned momentarily.

"At least tell me what's happening. Maybe I can help from the outside."

"You can't."

"Why? What went wrong?"

"We're not sure. But it's too dang..." The static returned in full force.

"Dad! Wade, what's wrong?"

Wade's voice overlapped the static. "I'm losing his signal. I'll try to boost the power, but Kim you have to make this fast. I don't know how long this will work." Seconds passed before Kim could hear her father's voice again.

"Kim? Kim!"

"Dad..."

"Listen to me. If there's an emergency, there will be an air raid siren to warn the civilians. If that happens, I want you to take your mother and brothers and get as far away from Middleton as you can."

"Why? What does that siren mean?"

"It means things have gone from bad to worse. The facility might be able to contain the worst of it but,"

"Worst? What the hell are you working on in there?"

James Possible excused his daughter's language. "Something we might not have been ready for."

Kim could not believe it. This Dr. James Timothy Possible. He was the most confident and self-assured man Kim had ever known. There was no challenge he couldn't handle, no obstacle he could not overcome. He was the quintessential Possible and everything Kim aspired to be. This defeatist talk was nothing like the man she knew. Something was scaring him big time.

"Kim, before I lose you again, I just wanted to say that I love you. Tell everyone that I love them all very much." She heard him stifle a sob. "I'll be home just as soon as I can. Keep the light on for me." Dad was breaking up. But it wasn't the static this time. He was fighting back his emotions. "I have to go, Kimmie." There was a long pause before he said his parting words, "I love you."

"Dad? DAD!" She didn't even realize she had stood up and was clenching her wrist so tight that her fingers began to cut off the blood flow. Wade's face appeared. "Sorry, Kim. The signal's gone now. Doubt I could bring it up again even if I wanted to."

"What's happening, Wade?" Kim's eyes watered between fear and frustration. Even Wade had difficulty looking her in the face. "I need to know!"

"I'll find out, Kim. That's a promise."

A promise. Her promise to her father was the only thing keeping her from storming the center at this very moment.

"Kim?" Wade asked after he noticed she hadn't said or moved in a minute.

She sat back down. Wade allowed her to wipe the growing wetness from her eyes before speaking again. "Are you going to be all right?"

She composed herself. The last thing Wade needed to see was her breaking down. How much confidence would that stir? "I'll be fine," she lied. "I just need to know what's going to happen."

"Kim. I hope you don't mind, but I was listening in. I was able to discern some background noise before we lost the signal."

"And?" Kim was on the edge of her bed.

"There were a lot of people running around. It sounded like an emergency klaxon was going off." He could see her face sink. "But it was pretty far off. I think he was in a private room. But Kim...he wasn't alone. There was somebody in there with him."

"Can you figure out whom?"

"I'm not sure. Give me some time to figure things out and I'll let you know as soon as I can."

It wasn't much but it was all she could hope for. "Thank you, Wade."

"Kim. He'll be alright. He's a Possible, remember? Anything's possible..."

"...for a Possible," she finished. A weak smile came across her face.

"You got it! Talk to you soon, Kim." And like that Wade was gone.

Anything's possible for a Possible. It was one of her father's favorite lines. Kim's philosophy revolved around that self-assuring concept. It's the reason she excelled in nearly everything. It made her believe that she could do almost anything if she put her mind to it. Right now, that creed demanded she have faith in her father, and that's exactly what she was going to do.

* * *

Wade worked well into the night. He had all his computers running a hundred different programs at once, creating a strobe-lighting effect in his room. He promised Kim he'd get to the bottom of this and that's exactly what he planned to do. It was pitch-black outside by the time Wade had finally made some progress. His eyes were red; fingers were ready to fall right out of their sockets. Wade Load could feel the silent presence of fatigue nudging him further into unconsciousness. He managed to fight it off so far. Kim was depending on him and Wade was not one to let a friend down.

A sudden beep stirred him right out of his seat. He'd been so focused on the task at hand that for a moment he didn't even know where he was. Then he realized it was one of his programs alerting him to a successful hack into the mainframe. He'd done it! All those hours of downloading video game betas before they were released had finally paid off.

He used to mouse to click the flashing yellow box on the corner of his screen. The box enlarged to encompass the entire screen filled with data in the form of binary code. Wade understood binary, but it was going by so fast that his human eyes could not keep up. He activated another program which slowed it down some, allowing him to read at a more preferable pace. Most of the information dealt with logistics. It was telling him how much money was being spent on the project (a very hefty sum as a matter of fact), how many people were working on it, the kind of materials that were being used and...

Wade narrowed his eyes. They were so tired that he worried they were playing tricks on him. He zeroed in on a single set of code that only a true techie would understand and read it again. "No way."

Wade had to read it two more times before his exhausted mind verified that it was no ploy. "I don't believe it!" he exclaimed. "That's what this is all about?"

A sound came from outside his door. Wade's excessive work ethic might have woken up his mom. Honestly, he was too shocked to even care if she walked into the room with the schematics...hold on. Since when did mom _not_ drag her feet while walking down the hall?

To answer him, the door to his room burst open and Wade turned around just in time as a tranquilizer dart nestled itself neatly into his fat neck. The effect was instantaneous and the boy genius was out light a broken light. The intruder was armed with night-vision goggles and donning black stealth gear; he pressed his finger to his ear to activate a tiny communications device to confirm that the target had been neutralized. Behind him, other like-dressed men carried the unconscious bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Load out their bedroom and down the stairs. Another one entered the room to hoist Wade's body over one shoulder and followed his comrades down the steps.

The one responsible for taking Wade down approached the computers and placed a tiny, circular device on the main screen. He pressed the small button on top to activate it. Three seconds passed and the main screen burst into static. The intruder walked away as sparks flew from every piece of hardware in the room. The scrambling device was unlike anything Wade could have conceived and it destroyed years-worth of gathered data and programs.

The intruder never once looked back. He had the package and was on the way to rendezvous point. His orders were to get out of Dodge as soon as possible and that's exactly what he planned to do. Joining his comrades inside an unmarked black van, they stole away like thieves in the night, taking their prize with them, and leaving no signs of having ever been there.


	2. There's Something in the Mist

**Darev:** This is my favorite chapter so far. It really sets the mood for what's to come, and I love the calm before the storm. Actually, this chapter is the storm before the calm. Middleton is devastated by a freak storm and James Possible's worst fears become all too real. Part of the appeal for me in writing this story is having all the characters, especially Kim, come face to face with their own mortality. There will be many instances in this story when one of the characters almost bite it...and some when the really do.

I'd also like to thank DayDreamer9, CajunBear73, and Muzzlehatch for taking an interest in this story by leaving reviews. It's Halloween, people, so get in the spirit!

* * *

It came without warning. The sleepy residents of Middleton were unaware of the nightmare about to befall their idealistic piece of Americana. To any who witnessed it that night, it was a freak storm. One moment the skies were clear; the next, a thunderous cloud of black enveloped the stars as if the End of Days had come to pass.

The wind kicked up as if the air itself was fleeing in terror from the darkness. People poking their heads outside their windows were taken aback by its ferocity. Trees as ancient as the earth itself, defying time and the elements with their stoic resistance, swayed like blades of grass. An old proverb came to mind considering that the grass would be there the following morning, having bent in the wind rather than stand to face it like the stubborn trees. However, this proverb said nothing about the aftermath of said storm, in which the trees would have been the lucky ones. The leaves would envy the trees as the living would the dead soon enough.

Kim Possible was halfway into a restless sleep when something banged against her window. It sounded as if a madman was trying to break in, but her room was three stories up. The intruder took the form of a tree branch as it bore, spear-like, through the window. Glass shattered and fell; a shower of torment that nearly bathed Kim Possible in inglorious cuts. The room's sole resident received the shock of her life when it happened. Fortunately atrophy had taken its toll on her weary body and she was slow in approaching the window. When the branch came through, she was far enough away that it didn't impale her. Kim had enough sense in her to step back anyway as more of the tree came in. Part of the wall had caved in as the full weight of the tree came up on her house. The intrusion was preceded by a second unwelcomed guest: the wind. Like a besieging army taking advantage of the gap in enemy lines, it swept in, tossing lamps and books and any loose piece of furniture on the floor.

Kim fell backward. Luckily her bed was there to cushion her fall. She heard a cry coming from downstairs. "Kim? Kim, are you okay?" It was her mother's voice. The ruckus was enough to wake everyone in the house. Her hair tousled, Kim had to forcefully push it back in order to see. More wind came in. Kim felt like she was staring into the maw of a giant, its breath blowing through her window. The storm followed suit and soon even her mother's high-pitched cry was drowned out by something not of this world.

Heaven itself was screaming.

"Mom!" Kim cried out. She knew she screamed, but couldn't hear her voice. So powerful was the storm that all other sound became mute. Kim did run to the stairs leading down to the second-floor hallway. Her mother was already there and the two Possible women almost slammed right into each other. Kim felt her mother's comforting arms around her before she could surmise that she'd made it downstairs. Standing back, Kim saw blue eyes widened in fear. Anne Possible was the family's foundation, an unshakable woman set in stone and as strong as any mountain. Right now she may as well have been a child in the night, so great was the terror in her eyes.

"Your brothers!" She exclaimed but need not have worried. The Tweebs were already up and about. They were actually behind Anne when she turned around to get them.

Their combined voices expressed their panic as the whole house shook. Grabbing her children and wishing that her husband were there with her, Anne Possible took her family to the basement.

"What's going on?" One of the twins, Kim knew not who, had asked when they reached the cellar.

"A tree came through my window," Kim said. She left out the part where it nearly skewered her like a kebob. Mom was scared enough as it is. "This storm came out of nowhere."

"Get inside." Anne closed the door and pressed herself against it, as if that would help deter something that could shake her house from getting inside. After tense moments, she allowed herself to join her kids in the cellar. Explosions bombarded the house from the outside, too powerful for any man-made invention to produce. Still shaking, Anne pulled her children into a corner and into a tight embrace. Kim felt so small. She used to be scared of storms when she was a kid and would usually seek safety in her mother's arms. She also felt safe, which is why she didn't fight back but embraced her mother in turn. The Tweebs did the same.

Several minutes passed and still the storm persisted. If Doomsday had indeed come, it was all they could to take strength in one another's touch. The added absence of a prominent member of their family made their shield seem weaker and Kim found herself, more than ever, fearing for what tomorrow might bring.

* * *

Tomorrow did come.

The weary people of Middleton cautiously poked their heads out of the sanctuaries of their homes to access the damage. It seemed that while there was a considerable mess made of their town, Middleton had survived relatively intact. There were many broken windows, though, and barely a tree remained standing. Several garbage cans and recycle bins littered the streets. Debris was literally everywhere with one not being able to take two steps without having to avoid tripping on something. The collateral damage to homes was extensive. A tree had literally cut one home in half down the block from where Kim lived, the family consoling one another as they looked upon the gaping hole where their living room had once been.

The Possible roof had been chipped away as if scraped by some large blade. The tree that bore through Kim's window slumped like a drunkard against the roof. It was a massive oak, and while Kim knew her family's insurance could cover it, she knew she wouldn't be sleeping in her room for a couple of days. She was still getting over the shock of almost being impaled. Last night she dreamed she didn't move fast enough and her mother found her the next morning with three feet of bark protruding from her back. Kim shivered at the image.

Ron's house seemed to have fared better. Aside from some peeled paint and some roof damage, the Stoppables would have little refurbishing to do. Ron met Kim halfway between their homes, right in the middle of the street. There was so much debris that they need not worry about cars running them over anytime soon. Kim was still in her pajamas though she wore her shoes to avoid cutting her feet on the glass. "How's it going, KP?" Ron saw the tree in her window and was worried about her. Little did he know how close she came to biting the big one? Unlike Mom, however, Kim confided in him and Ron's brown eyes widened in shock. "Holy..."

"Yeah." Kim lowered her head in resignation. "Imagine a tree doing what no super villain could have. I tell you Mother Nature can be a real bitch sometimes."

Suddenly, Ron wrapped his arms around Kim's neck and hugged her tight. "Don't even joke about that, Kim. I'd be lost without you."

"Ron. What's with all the sentiment all of a sudden?" She asked with blushing features. "I almost die on a daily basis." She found herself returning the hug nonetheless, taking comfort in Ron's affection.

"But I've always been there. I'm always there to bail you out."

Kim held her tongue. She didn't want to remind Ron that usually it was the other way around with him needing her help. "What would you have done? Jumped in front of me?"

There was a long pause before Ron stepped away. There was a look on his face that Kim didn't recognize. He scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Yeah well, I guess I could have pushed you out of the way."

"Thanks Ron."

"Anytime."

"Ronald. Your phone is ringing," Mrs. Stoppable called from their lawn. In her arms she cradled baby Hana who cooed lightly at the mention of Ron's name.

"Be back in a sec, KP."

Kim watched him run back inside. She waved to Ron's parents who asked her if everything was alright on her end. Kim gave solace to their worries, indicating that everyone was okay and their insurance would cover it. Kim returned to her own clan. Her brothers were already discussing ways they could improve the house, making it storm-resistant and perhaps even adding aquatic features in case of flooding. She left them to their own devices and turned her attention to her mother who was sitting on the curb of their front door, brooding.

Kim sat beside her. "You okay?"

She sighed. "I just wish I knew what you father was up to."

Kim's ears twitched at the mention of her father. Last night's conversation with dad left her feeling sick inside. Mom was distraught enough as it is. If she told her, she may well go off to the center and drag him kicking and screaming out onto the street. Mothers were crazy like that. Kim hugged her knees together, thinking on whether or not she should tell her mother the truth.

"What happened last night?"

Mom's question sent all of Kim's alert signals going off. Did she overhear her talking with Dad? Did she know that Kim was holding out on her?

"Where did this storm come from? You'd think a tornado swept through Middleton."

Kim visibly relaxed.

"I've never seen anything like it. It was such a beautiful week."

"Global warming," her daughter suggested, and had half a thought to slap herself right then and there.

"Incredible." Anne Possible regarded the neighborhood. Across the street, Ron Stoppable left the house and was walking toward them. He paused once to greet Mrs. Dr. P before turning to Kim.

"That was my boss," he said, indicating his phone. "He wants me at Smarty Marty pronto. People are going to be swamping the place for food and supplies. General's going to want every soldier on the front lines."

"Need a ride?" Kim stood up.

"Kimmie!" Anne did not like the idea of her daughter going out in this mess.

"Mom, we're going to need to stock up. It may be a while before the authorities get this place up and running again. I'm guessing the power's out for most of the Tri-City Area so we need to be prepared. We've been meaning to go shopping anyway so might as well get it over with."

Anne considered Kim's words. "Okay, Kim. But be careful."

"Mom. Ron's with me."

Anne looked at Ron who gave her his goofy smile. The look on her face was not one of confidence in his ability to keep her daughter safe. She grabbed Kim by the shoulders, gently shaking her. "Please. Please be careful."

Kim smiled. "I'll be okay. You wrote up a grocery list, right?"

"It's on the table."

"Great. I'll get changed." Kim went to do just that. She grabbed the shopping list on her way upstairs. Walking into her room felt weird. It was the one place a teenager could truly claim as her own. Seeing the tree there, that awful branch poking through the window, it felt like a violation of her privacy and her right to feel secure in her own home. She nervously watched the tree as if it would try to come at her again. _Listen to yourself_, Kim scolded. It was a close call and nothing more! _Stop acting like some frightened little girl!_

Kim raided her closet, donning a short-sleeved blue shirt and beige pants. Putting on her shirt, Kim realized she had a bit of hard time because something was stuck in her sleeve. It was her Kimmunicator, the wrist device Wade gave her to replace the clunky portable she used to carry. Thinking of him made her pause for a moment. She knew Ron was waiting for her but she had to do something first. Sitting on her bed, Kim tried to contact Wade. There was no signal.

Strange, she thought. Wade had gone silent before, but Kim had a strange feeling there was more to it than that. Kim tried again and failed once more. If only she knew where he lived. It struck her as foolishness that here she trusted a preteen to oversee her website and she didn't even know how to find him. Wade's level of secrecy bordered on the paranoid. There was a time when she wondered if Wade was no more than a computer program living inside the digital world and would have gone on believing it had he not made his first appearance, aiding Kim and Ron against the unscrupulous Team Impossible a few months back.

"Damn." Kim blew out a long-winded breath. So much for that idea. Then her father came to mind. Should she try to get in touch with him? Against her better judgment, Kim dialed in the Middleton Space Center and waited...waited...waited...nothing. It was too much to hope for. Wade was her only means of connecting with her father and if he was AWOL...

Kim put it out of her mind. Strapping the device on her wrist, she grabbed the green jacket she had draped over a chair and rushed downstairs. She had just finished tying her shoes and walked outside when she found her mother, the tweebs, Ron and Rufus (the latter which seemed to show up out of the blue at any given moment) and about half the neighborhood looking to the east.

"What is it?" Kim joined them on the sidewalk. "What's everyone looking at?"

Ron pointed. "Check it." She followed his line of sight. "What is that, Kim?"

Kim saw it...and didn't know what to say. Off in the distance where there was once a perfect view of the mountains all she could see was a thick fog. It blotted out the horizon in that direction and continued to gather as if emanating from the earth itself. "Got me," she shrugged.

"It's some kind of mist," Anne Possible said.

"More like a fog," one of the twins, Tim, said.

"Yeah," agreed Jim. "It's too dense, and besides we're too far from the coast for the air and water temperature to be right enough for mist."

Ron studied it some more. "Looks like a cloud to me."

"It's too low-lying, Ron. Cloud particles are too light to be this close to the ground."

Ron didn't know which brother said that, but he shrugged. Meteorology wasn't his specialty. "I call it like I see it. Ready to go, KP?"

She nodded. "I'll pull the sloth out."

When Kim backed the car into the driveway, she waited for Ron to take the shotgun position. Anne Possible came up to her window. "Come home as soon as you can," she said. "I can't handle your brothers by myself."

Kim held up the grocery list. "I'll return bearing gifts. And don't worry, Mom. We'll be fine. We've got Rufus with us."

At that, the little molerat gave off a salute to Dr. Possible.

"Now that I can take solace in." She smiled, albeit weakly. Her hand touched Kim's shoulder. "Be careful, Kimmie," she said before kissing her daughter on the cheek. Kim accepted the sign of affection with a smile of her own. She gave her mother's hand a reassuring squeeze before backing the rest of the way.

"Look after Mom," Kim told her brothers.

The boys saluted her and Kim offered one right back. She would be as worried about them as she would any member of her family but she blew them a kiss just the same. The boys gagged, one of them ducked behind the other at the supposed projectile. "Tweebs." Kim looked to Ron. "Ready?"

"Gotta make the money."

Kim took her time backing up and would have to maneuver through an obstacle course of scattered debris. She regarded her house and her family once more before driving off to Smarty Mart, trying to ignore the fact that the mist or fog or whatever it is was coming in the direction of the space center.

* * *

The ride would usually take less than ten minutes, but with all the debris it took them just that long just to go down two blocks. Along the way, Ron spotted a familiar trail of black hair walking down the sidewalk. Kim honked the horn. "Monique!"

Kim's friend turned at the mention of her name. She smiled as Kim pulled up to the curb. "Where you headed?"

"Just looking around. Trying to get the lay of the land." She leaned onto the edge of Ron's window. "You?"

"Smarty Mart. Ron's boss is calling all hands to battle stations."

"Smarty Mart, huh? Now why didn't I think of that?"

The two occupants, plus Rufus, stared at her questioningly.

"I guess you didn't hear." Monique sighed as she explained. "I just got off the phone with Carrie, you know the new girl who works the morning shifts at Club Banana? Anyway, she says that the mall got hit pretty hard."

"How hard?" Kim's voice stressed genuine concern.

"It looks like a bomb went off. Half the place is trashed beyond recognition."

"And Club Banana?"

Monique's face said it all. "It's gone, Kim. Carrie told me so herself. She says the storm must have had some personal grudge against us because it looked like the store was chewed up and spat out."

"You're kidding!"

"I wish. Looks like we're out of a job."

Kim slumped in her seat. "I can't believe it."

Monique shrugged. "Anyway, if you guys are heading to Smarty Mart, you mind if I come with? I could grab a few things while I'm there."

"Sure. Hop in."

Monique jumped in the back and they were off seconds later. Kim had to take numerous detours to reach the part of town where the mega retail store was located. Kim, Ron and Monique counted their homes the lucky ones. Several residents would have to take refuge in the convention center...if that wasn't destroyed too.

"What was that storm last night?" Monique asked all of a sudden as Kim circumvented a tree that had fallen in the street. "Girl, I was scared out of my mind."

"A tree fell through Kim's window," Ron said.

"Were you okay?" She asked Kim.

"I was fine," she lied. It was the scare of her life. "Window took most of it, though I doubt I'll be staying in my room for a while."

"You can always bunk with me, Kim."

"Thanks, Mon. But I think Mom's going to need me more than ever."

"How so?"

Kim was hesitant to go any further but if she couldn't trust her friends than who could she trust? "Dad was stuck working at the center last night. There was some kind of lockdown. No one allowed in or out." She glanced outside at two men who were trying to clear the rubble from a driveway. A woman observed them quietly at the door to her house. "He said something about an emergency. I asked Wade to check in on it. Turns out that there's a communications blackout over Middleton. We're cut off from the outside world."

"So Justine was right." Ron whistled.

"You mean Justine Flanner?" Monique asked him. When Ron relayed everything she had told them, the ebony girl whistled too. "Sounds like a conspiracy to me."

"I told you, Kim!"

"Moving on!" Kim hated when Ron got stuck on something. He wouldn't let up unless she agreed with him or he proved that he was right; none of which was often. "Wade was able to contact my dad last night despite the blackout. He said that things weren't looking too good." Kim steadied herself, fighting back the urge to turn this car around and head straight for the center. "He warned me that if a klaxon were to sound out that I should take Mom and the tweebs far away from here. Evacuate Middleton."

"A klaxon?" Ron asked, bewildered.

"A warning siren use to alert people to danger," she clarified. "I hope he was overreacting." _For all our sakes._

"Dude." Ron looked at Rufus who was sitting on the dashboard. "This is heavy."

The rodent nodded his approval.

"That's scary, Kim."

Kim glanced at the rearview mirror. "I'm sure my dad can handle it. He's a Possible."

If her friend took strength from that, Monique showed no signs. "Yeah well..." And she hugged her arms in the back, rubbing them as if cold. "If things are going down, I'm getting my folks and my brother out of here."

"They'll be fine, Monique. You'll see." Kim tried to sound as confident as she could.

"Kim!" Ron hurried to grab her attention. Up on the neck block where there was a major intersection, there was a car accident. Two vehicles, one the two teens at the front instantly recognized, were smoking from a head-on collision. The drivers were outside, apparently not injured. One of them was yelling at the other from the top of her lungs.

"Is that Bonnie?" Kim asked though she already knew the answer.

"Poor boy," Monique said from the back. "Who's she grilling now?"

It was Ned. The dorky boy from Bueno Nacho was backed against his car as Bonnie riddled him with verbal insults and threats. Kim pulled the sloth to a stop beside the accident. From her window she said, "You guys okay?"

Bonnie turned on her. Her face was one of unbridled rage. Ned, relieved that her attention was elsewhere for the moment, pleaded with Kim to save him by clasping his hands together in prayer. "This idiot," She motioned at Ned, "almost killed me!"

"Looks to me you gave as good as you got."

Monique's comment did nothing to quell the brunette's fire. "This is why nerds shouldn't be allowed to drive!" She reared back on Ned, her fists above her head. Ned cringed against the driver side of his car, hands up to protect himself. The fists did not fall, but Bonnie's wrath is enough to send anyone trembling in fear. "What the hell did you think you were doing? I had the right of way."

"B-B-But I had the r-right of way," he managed to stutter.

"No. I did!"

"But..."

"You had crap! When I'm through with you, geek, you'll never set foot behind a wheel again. You'll have to ride the bus like all the other losers!"

"Geez, Bonnie. Chill out. It was just an accident."

"When I want your opinion, Kim, I'll ask for it."

"The important thing is that neither of you are hurt. Considering everything else that's been happening, I'd say you're lucky to be standing." As Kim said that, an emergency vehicle sped on by. The siren died down as it rounded the next corner. "Some people aren't so fortunate," Kim lamented.

"It was a brand new car!" Bonnie stomped her foot. Her balled hands shook at her side.

"Junior can buy you another one. Didn't you say he was _rich_?"

A sudden change came over Bonnie and all the anger seemed to leave her all at once. She paused to consider Kim's words. "True. His dad is loaded."

"Like a nine-millimeter," Ron whispered to Monique. She smirked at the comment.

Bonnie regarded the car. The front half was pancaked against Ned's, which, she noticed with distaste, was a wreck even before the accident. Kim was also right in that it could have been far worse. Bonnie was wearing her seatbelt when the hit took place, sparing her an unwanted facial with the asphalt. The only reason she'd been wearing it at all was due to the heightened presence of police authorities who were trying to get the town back in order.

That didn't exclude Ned's recklessness as far as Bonnie was concerned. "I want your insurance information. Now!"

"But it's my mother's car."

Bonnie threw her hands up into the air. "As if you weren't pathetic enough."

Kim had had enough of this. "Let it go, Bonnie."

"Uh...Kim." Ron waited until he looked at her before pointing to his watch. "Make the money."

"Right. Sorry, Ron. Bonnie. Ned. Why don't you hop in and we'll give you a ride?"

"We?" Monique asked. "I don't recall being asked my opinion."

Kim ignored her. Obnoxious as she was, Bonnie needed help and Kim helped people. Plus she couldn't leave poor Ned alone with the girl. Kim stopped Bonnie before she could protest. "Come on. You going to wait out here all day? Believe me when I say that the city has bigger issues to worry about than your little fender bender."

"Fine." Bonnie huffed. "But I am not sitting next to him." She threw Ned a dirty look and made for the backseat. Monique begrudgingly resigned herself to being the meat in the sandwich as she scooted in to make room.

"Thank you, Kim."

"You are welcome, Ned. You too, Bonnie."

"I didn't say anything."

"I know." Kim winked at her in the sideview mirror.

Back on the road, the sloth found fewer obstructions in its path but no less traffic. They passed numerous military caravans heading in the opposite direction.

"Is it just me or are they in a hurry?" Monique asked in general.

"A big hurry. They're heading out of town." Kim narrowed her eyes. That nagging sensation at the back of her mind, the one that warned her of impending danger, was going off like someone had lit a fire under it. "What do they know that we don't?"

"Maybe we should follow them." Ned regretted the suggestion as soon as he said it, feeling every eye on him including Kim's, which gawked at him through the rearview mirror. "I mean if there was trouble they'd us know, right? They wouldn't just leave like that?" That he said it as a question and not a statement meant he wasn't so sure of what he was saying. In truth, Ned wanted to be comforted, to be told that everything was okay. He was scared just like the rest of them.

"I don't know. Maybe." Kim watched the next convoy go by. Not one of the soldiers so much as looked at them. It's as if they'd already given up and were counting their losses, putting Middleton and its people out of sight and out of mine. Her fingers clenching the wheel, the sensation in her neck increased to a level that could turn her skin red.

Like a flashing emergency light.

* * *

Their spirits waned even further upon arriving at Smarty Mart.

"S.R.O," Monique said when she saw the rows of cars lined up, some illegally, in the parking lot. It looked like half of Middleton had the same idea. From their vantage point on the other side of the lot, they could make out a crowd looming just inside the store. No doubt Smarty Mart would need every one of its employees to deal with this debacle.

Despite this, Kim managed to find a spot at the north end of the lot, far from the main entrance. Ron had one foot out the door before she finished parking. "Come on, KP! I'm going to be late," he urged.

"Settle down, Ron. Smarty Mart's not going anywhere."

"If only we were," Kim heard Bonnie mutter from the backseat. She was acutely aware of how Bonnie felt about the megastore. In truth, Kim shared her sentiments. It's not that she had anything personal against it, only that she was a slave to her reputation. Kim was captain of the cheer squad and one of the most popular girls in school. That position demanded she make an effort to be at the head of the trend, making it so that nothing but the finest fabrics and garments touch her skin. She had been to Smarty Mart before only on dire emergencies, such as the case when she needed a new pair of pants or to see if they had any of her old mission clothes still in stock; but other than that, she gave it a wide berth. It didn't help matters that in addition to working at Smarty Mart, Ron frequented it like his own Mecca, believing it to be the next best thing since Pot Porter's Corndogs. She was happy Ron had found work, but she hoped, even prayed in private moments, that he would not make a career out of it.

"Why are we here?" Bonnie asked when she stepped out of the car.

"To do some shopping. Why else would we come to a retail store?" Kim shut her door harder than she intended, frustrated for having Bonnie tag along. If she was going to complain the whole trip, she may as well have left her where she found her. "The power's out and people need to stock up on supplies. I suggest you do the same." She brushed by her rival and led the group toward the main entrance. The doors slid open, and the teens found themselves in the middle of a scene from the End of Days. People lined the store in droves. The aisles were packed with items scattered all over the floor from reaching hands and careless contact. There were arguments as patrons tried to form some semblance of a line, those with children trying to sneak their way ahead of the person in front of them while feigning innocence of their attempt. Some children looked about wide-eyed; not fully understanding what was going on but knowing full well that something was spooking the adults.

One of the store employees, a stocky gentleman with a receding hairline, approached the group as they entered. "It's a good thing you showed up, Ron. The animals are going crazy. They need help moving them to a more secure location."

"I'm already on it, Oscar. Tell the boss the Ronman's on the case."

"He'll be happy knowing you're here. We're operating at only half strength," Oscar went on, leading Ron by the arm away from the others. "Our people are scattered throughout the Tri-City Area and some can't get pass the debris. Looks like we're on our own for now."

Ron looked over at his friends...and Bonnie. "I'll see you guys in a few. Remember anything you buy is on my employee discount."

Bonnie crossed her arms over her chest. "That's sweet." Cynicism dripped in her voice.

Monique mimicked her gesture while looking at her. "Who said he was talking to you?"

"That goes for you too, Bonnie!" Ron called before Oscar pulled him into the crowd.

Bonnie gave Monique a smug smirk. Monique rolled her eyes. She made it a point not to sit in the backseat with her when they left.

Pulling out her shopping list, Kim looked it over. "Okay. I think it's best if we split up."

"Fine by me." Bonnie went off on her own. "Try not to take too long, Kim." She brushed back her hair. "Some of us are here against our will."

"Let's ditch her," Monique said to Kim when Bonnie was out of earshot.

"Monique!"

"Don't act like the thought didn't cross your mind."

Kim admitted the point by saying, "Not in the last ten seconds."

The friends shared a knowing smile.

"Uh, Kim." Ned stepped forward. "You mind if I stick with you?"

"Everything okay, Ned?"

"Yeah it's just...I don't feel comfortable being alone right now."

Monique gave him a condescending stare but held her tongue. After a brief exchange of looks with Kim, she shrugged and walked off. "See you in a few."

Kim grabbed one of the few remaining shopping carts and together with Ned went about their business. "Here," she offered the list to him. "You can cross things off as we go."

"I don't have a pen."

Kim rolled her eyes. She knew something was bugging Ned which is why she allowed him to accompany her. She knew him as an associate from when she worked at Bueno Nacho as an employee. Ned was a slave driver, and Kim found herself hating him the longer she worked there. Overtime, when she finally retired from the fast food business and Ned was her server and not her boss, she began to see a different side to him. Ned was sensitive and kind when he wanted to be. He wasn't that popular in school, which Kim surmised was the reason he was so hard on her. Lording it over the head cheerleader was a strange turn of fortune for him. For once he was in charge and being her boss provided him with a measure of power that he abused to his heart's content. It just seemed that some people were prone to big headedness.

Take Ron for example, whom she loved dearly. Naco realties had turned him into a millionaire overnight; how he loved showing of his newfound fortune in front of others. Getting a new haircut had made Ron full of himself, even arrogant beyond measure. Donning a strength-enhancing ring had made Ron a muscle bound hunk (his words, not hers), and a top-secret experiment that had supposedly given him super intelligence, which turned out to be Rufus in the end, made him believe he was the smartest living being on the planet. Add to that the Ron Factor incident and a major flaw in his character became apparent.

Kim knew in the case of both Ron and Ned that it came down to a lack of confidence. They were both gifted men for sure, but that they thought so little of themselves projected onto others. Some, like Bonnie, would take advantage, berating them as a means to cover up their own insecurities. Others, like Kim, wanted them to see that they had a lot to offer. Sometimes it worked and other times, such as the case in Bueno Nacho the previous day, proved that no manner of kind words could help people believe in themselves. It would take something more drastic to for them to prove that they were worth something.

They shopped in silence, with Kim filling up the cart while Ned made a slight tear beside each item on the list to indicate that it had been found. After a while, Kim noticed Ned fidgeting. He had something to say but didn't know how or when to say it. She decided to open up the conversation. "So, everyone at home okay?"

"Huh? Oh yeah. Everyone's fine."

"And the Bueno Nacho?"

"It's still standing," he added with a hint of pride. If nothing else, Ned took pride in his work. Few teenagers could say that at this point in their life.

"That'll make Ron happy." Kim picked up a box of cereal. After looking for the date, she paused a moment, and asked, "And what about you? You okay?"

"Well...that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

_Finally_. "What's on your mind, Ned?" She placed the cereal in the cart which was almost full.

The boy took a breather to gather his thoughts. "Some soldiers came into Bueno Nacho the other day." He looked at her. "It was after you left. There were three of them. They took a booth and started talking. I was close enough to hear them but was careful to not let them know I was eavesdropping." Ned smirked. "You hear a lot of things you're not supposed to when you're mopping."

Kim froze at that. How many things had Ned heard when she and Ron were eating at Bueno Nacho. She looked upon him with newfound suspicion, wondering if Ned wasn't as innocent as he appeared.

"They were talking about some experiment going on at the space center. Word was some four-star general was coming into town that day to check up on the project. That's why there was so much security."

"Did they say who?"

Ned shook his head. "They were pretty vague on the details. I don't know if it's because they were being careful or because their superiors didn't tell them much. I think it was the latter. I know what it's like being kept out of the loop." Ned looked up. He scanned the aisle they were in as if afraid someone was listening. They seemed to be alone, but even with no one in the vicinity Ned still leaned in close and rose his voice into a whisper. "They sounded real worried. Whatever was going down at the center had the grunts spooked. One of them was even considering a reassignment to a new post so as to get out of town. Rumors at the center were that they were working on some kind of secret weapon."

"The center is meant for peaceful exploration of space. It's not a weapons factory."

"Then maybe they're building a spaceship, I don't know. All I know is if the military has something to do with it, you can bet that peaceful exploration isn't on their agenda. The way those guys were talking, you'd think the world was about to end."

A shiver wormed its way through Kim's body. End of the world? It couldn't be that bad...could it?

"Your dad works at the center, right?"

Kim turned on him, green eyes flaring. "My dad's a scientist! He would never build a weapon for the military."

Ned held up his hands apologetically. He backed away. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply..."

She looked away.

Ned proceeded cautiously. "It's just that if anyone would know what's going on it would be him. I just figured he might have told you something is all." He rubbed his arm. "Things are pretty tense, you know."

"Yeah." Kim approached Ned and placed a forgiving hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry I snapped at you. We're all a little on edge since this thing's started. Just know we're all going to make it through this okay."

Despite his misgivings, Ned found himself smiling. "Thanks, Kim. It feels good hearing you say that."

"That's touching." A female voice caught both their attention and they followed it down the aisle and to their left. Justine Flanner was standing there with a stoic look upon her face and arms folded in front of her. Kim inwardly gasped. How did she manage to sneak up on them so easily?

"Why don't you tell Ned the part where the military has erected a dead zone around Middleton, cutting us off from the outside?"

Ned, eyes widening, gawked at Kim. "Is this true?"

Kim sighed. "Yes." Then she said, "You remember when Justine sat with us yesterday? She's the one who told us about it. I confirmed her suspicions when I got home."

Justine fixed her eyes on Ned. "Those soldiers you mentioned, did they say anything else?"

"Nothing. They finished their meal and left."

"Need you any more evidence, Kim? Something illegal is going down at the space center. We have to confront them."

"Confront who, Justine?"

"The military. The scientists. Whoever's running this operation; we have a right to know what's going on in our own community."

"The center's heavily-guarded. We won't get within a stone's throw without being stopped."

Justine stepped up to Kim. The redhead reared back as if she meant to hit her. All she did was point a finger in Kim's face. "Don't give me that! Maybe you haven't noticed but the army's getting out of Dodge. They're high-tailing it out of here and I think it has something do with the storm last night." Justine stepped back, but never released Kim from her scowl. "I was still awake when it happened. I was on my computer trying to find a way around the army's communication blockade when everything went dead. The storm emitted some kind of electro-magnetic pulse that short-circuited my hardware. I still had other tools, though, and I scanned the storm just as it hit."

"You went outside?" Kim asked in disbelief. "Justine, that was very dangerous!"

"I was in my room. I take smart risks, not stupid ones. Anyway, the readings I got were off the charts. There were composite materials in that storm that I'd never seen before. In fact, before I had to take cover in the basement, my mother literally dragging me from the window, I could swear I saw green lightning."

"Green lightening?" Ned repeated.

"Otherworldly," was the only adjective Justine could come up with to describe it.

"Are you sure about that?" Kim asked.

"I have eyes. Seeing is believing afterall."

Kim wasn't convinced. "And you believe that storm was a direct result of the project going on at the space center?"

"What else could it have been?"

"Oh, I don't know. A crack in the ozone layer, perhaps?"

Justine's eyes narrowed.

"What?"

The blonde sighed aloud. "Look Kim, I know you don't want to entertain the possibility that your father might have had a hand in this..."

"Let me stop you right there before you say something you'll regret."

But Justine continued. "But I believe it's safe to assume he knows more about this than he told you. In fact, I'd bet on it."

"Justine,"

"If this is a result of his work, then he is responsible whether you like it or not."

"Justine!"

Ned's eyes darted back and forth, questioning which female would snap first. He suddenly wondered if he'd have been better off going off on his own.

Kim got to within an inch of Justine's face, practically breathing down her throat. "Enough! You said your piece. Now let it go."

Justine raised an eyebrow in defiance.

"I don't know what you're trying to prove but it ends here. You want to blame somebody so bad that you'd accuse a man who's done nothing but give to his community. My father isn't perfect, but he would never under any circumstances participate in an experiment that would endanger people's lives."

"And what if he was forced to?"

That question took some of the fire out of Kim's words. She inched away from Justine's face but did not relinquish her aggressive stance. Next to them, Ned was looking for somebody to intervene. You could never find a store employee when you needed one.

"Well?" Justine asked. "Would he?"

Kim's answer was immediate. "No." But then she looked away. "He wouldn't."

An uncomfortable silence followed with Kim and Justine just glaring at one another. Finally, the blonde turned to leave. "I hope you're right, Kim."

When she left, Ned breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought it was going to come to blows there for a sec. I mean Justine was pushing all your buttons and," He immediately stopped when Kim fixed her gaze on him, the fire far from extinguished. "That is...she went too far." He suddenly felt very small. The look in Kim's eyes emitted such power and emotion that even Bonnie's steely-eyed glare paled in comparison. What is it about him that had the ability to irritate pretty, dangerous women?

But Kim's view softened and she sighed. "She's just breathing smoke. Nothing to take seriously."

Ned wasn't so sure. After overhearing the soldiers' conversation at the Bueno Nacho, the sudden storm, and Justine's revelations, he just wasn't sure about anything anymore.

What was happening to their once peaceful town?

* * *

Kim found herself thinking the same thing when she and Ned made their way to the cashiers. The line was long and they hadn't moved for a good fifteen minutes when Ned spotted a familiar face walking up to them. He tapped Kim on the shoulder. "Hey look, Kim. It's Mr. Barkin."

Indeed Steven Barkin, the omnipresent authority figure and strict disciplinarian, was working his way through the crowds. "Possible." His baritone voice grated on Kim's ears but she smiled anyway. "Hey, Mr. B. How's it going?"

"Everything's five-by-five. Thanks for asking." He paused to consider Ned. "You're that taco guy, aren't you?"

"Ned, sir."

"Ah, yes. Ned." Turning back to Kim, Steve Barkin asked. "Mission?"

"Car accident," she explained. "Needed a ride."

"Ah." He suddenly understood. Steve was no supporter of the Food Chain, but even he understood the unlikely chances of a boy like Ned and a girl like Kim being in the same company. Hell even Ron's chances were far-fetched and Steven could not for the life of himself begin to understand that relationship. "Good to see you're okay, Ned."

"Why thank you, Mr. Barkin. I," Ned stopped when he realized that Barkin was no longer paying attention to him. As a Smarty Mart employee, his job was not to pass the time with idle conversation but to see to the needs of its customers. Already there was an argument brewing two lines down and people were edging away in anticipation of a fight. "If you'll excuse me." The brawny man made for the potential fight and people scrambled to get out of his way.

"How can you be so casual around him?" Ned asked Kim.

"He's more bark than bite. I think he's a pretty nice guy when you get to know him."

"If you say so."

"Kim!" Bonnie came striding up to her. "About time. Can we leave now?"

"Just let me pay for these and we'll be on our way."

Bonnie grumbled. "I can't believe you shop here."

"I can't believe you didn't do any shopping at all. It'd be a good idea to stock up while we're here."

"Uh, Kim. I'm dating a billionaire's son. In case the proverbial shit hits the fan, I have my own private island sanctuary to escape to." She grew restive. "There's just one problem." Bonnie removed her cellular from concealment. "My phone's dead. I've been trying to get a signal ever since I left the house but the damn thing's just not working."

Kim and Ned exchanged concerned looks. They knew the reason Bonnie's phone wasn't working but neither of them wanted to be the one to break it to her.

"Piece of crap." She put it away. "Should have stayed with Sprint."

"Hey, ya'll." Monique appeared behind them. She was pushing a cart of her own. "All set?"

"We'd better be," Bonnie directed at Kim.

"Did I ever tell you how much I love your company?" Kim asked.

The brunette stuck out her tongue.

Suddenly there came a noise. At first it sounded like a police siren, but as the din of the store died down it became apparent that it was some kind of horn. Soon all manner of conversation, argument, and general complaining came to a complete halt. The patrons looked out about for some explanation as to what was going on. Some of them began to ask the store employees but they were just as in the dark as the rest of them. Concerned murmurs began to build and heads turned every which way. A couple of people began to shake as if the noise cried out their sudden doom.

"What is that?" Bonnie asked.

Kim's face was frozen in mute horror.

"Kim? I'm talking to you." Bonnie snapped her fingers in her face. "Hello?"

Monique's expression was the same as Kim's. "Kim...is that...?"

"An air raid siren." The conversation she had with her father came back to her, like ghosts whispering into her ear.

_"Listen to me. If there's an emergency, there will be an air raid siren to warn the civilians. If that happens, I want you to take your mother and brothers and get as far away from Middleton as you can."_

_"Why? What does that siren mean?"_

_"It means things have gone from bad to worse."_

Mr. Barkin's voice overlapped the general muttering. "People! There's no need for concern. Rest assured we will discern the meaning behind the klaxon just as soon as possible. In the meantime, continue your shopping."

But Kim had other ideas. "We have to get out of here!"

"What are you talking about?" Bonnie asked.

She grabbed Bonnie by the shoulders. "Do not argue with me, Bonnie!" She shook her. "Just do as I say and get ready to leave."

"But..." Bonnie never finished as Kim let her go and forced her way through the crowd. She ignored the protests of people who thought she was trying to cut in line and made for the front. A thin, gangly man of African-American origin, almost emaciated, was working the register. He gasped as Kim hopped onto the shopping counter and lifted her voice so as to be heard by all.

"Everyone listen to me!" All heads turned toward her. "There's been an emergency at the space center. That sound you hear is an air raid siren warning you to get out of town. Drop what you're doing and leave here immediately. Get out of Middleton!"

A chorus of confused and unconvinced questions came her way. Many of them disregarded her warning altogether. "Please. You know who I am. You know who my father is. I would never make something like this up. He told me himself that if I hear the siren, I'm to take my family and leave. That's what you all should be doing." She gestured madly toward the exit. "What are you standing around for? Go!"

A few people did believe her. Those who knew Kim Possible's reputation heeded her advice. Parents grabbed their children; shoppers dropped their groceries; employees abandoned their posts. Even those who were just walking in did an about-face and went back the way they came. A small stampede of people, scared beyond their minds, rushed toward their cars. But the greater majority stayed; those who were just too confused or did not believe what she said.

"Possible!" Barkin came up to her, reaching for her hand. "Get down from there!"

She moved out of his reach. "Mr. Barkin! When have you known me to be a liar?"

Ron came rushing through the crowd at that moment, having heard the siren and remembering Kim's warning in the car. He was dressed in his Smarty Mart employee outfit. "Kim's right, Mr. B. We've gotta jet."

Barkin looked between them both. "I want answers, you two. Now!"

"There's no time to explain!"

"Start making sense, Possible, before I detain the both of you in the brig."

"We have a brig?" Ron asked.

"Actually it's the lost and found." Barkin turned on Ron and said in a low, menacing voice, "But I can make it so you stay lost...permanently."

Ron gulped.

"Mr. Barkin, please!"

"Someone's coming," a patron called out.

Kim turned around to see a figure approaching the entrance. You'd think seeing a host of frightened people running in the opposite direction would be enough incentive to turn around and go back, but no. Aggravated, Kim leaped off the counter and made for the door intent on dissuading any would-be shoppers. The surprise was hers, however, as she found not one person but two standing in the doorway. One of them was passed out with blood seeping from the forehead; his arm slung over the other one's shoulder. The Samaritan limped into the store, obviously having suffered grievous wounds.

What struck Kim the most was not their condition, but rather the identity of the two newcomers. Others gawked too for they were almost as well-known as Kim Possible. Strange attire aside, their skin pigments were enough to draw anyone's attention.

"There's something in the mist!" Shego cried, drawing a terrified gasp from the crowd. Her eyes were frantic. Her cat suit had been ripped in several places with a very nasty gash drawing blood down her right calf. Dirt and blood caked her face and a much darker concoction, a substance that was unfamiliar to Kim, painted her clothes a bluish-black. Hanging off her, Dr. Drakken was barely conscious of what was going on. He offered up a weak grunt as Shego dragged him into the store.

Barely able to walk, Shego stumbled in the last few steps and Kim had to intervene before the two of them fell over. Fortunately Mr. Barkin was by her side and he relieved Shego of Dr. Drakken.

Shego fell to her knees with Kim in front of her. The teen heroine tried to shake her out of it but Shego was erratic. Her words came out in a jumble and were difficult to interpret. "You're not making sense."

Even in her rattled state, Shego still possessed the strength to grab Kim by the arms and clench real hard, drawing a cry of pain from her. "Don't go in the mist!" She reiterated, or rather screamed. "It killed them. It tore them to pieces right in front of us!"

"Shego!"

"We tried to run. We tried to run but it caught us. We almost...almost...we..." Shego released her hold on Kim and fell into her arms, spent.

"Shego!" Kim placed her head gently on the ground. She lost a lot of blood, Kim realized. "We need medical assistance," she told the crowd. "Is anyone a doctor?"

Suddenly it seemed that everyone wanted to leave. What Kim's words had failed to do, Shego's entrance had done for her. Half the people still in the store dashed out the entrance and made for their cars. "Wait a minute! We need help!" But her pleas fell on deaf ears. Had she tried to follow them, she would have noticed a thick fog rolling over the parking lot. People froze in their tracks as the mist came in like the wrath of God. Those with enough sense to jump into their cars try desperately to start the engines. They and their vehicles are lost to sight soon after. Some ran back into the megastore. They are followed by screams of absolute terror.

Hearing those screams, seeing the mist, Kim dragged Shego's unconscious form away from the door. Mr. Barkin did the same for Drakken. "Everyone get back! Stay away from the windows!" For once the people did heed her advice. Everyone moved as far away from the front of the store as they were able. Kim and Barkin took their human baggage as far away as behind the counters before they stopped. Looking outside, neither of them could make heads or tails of what they were seeing. There were a few more screams but they were silenced abruptly never to cry out again. The air raid siren died out soon after that.

Inside the Smarty Mart, all was quiet as if death had been one of the few patrons to successfully run back inside. Kim could hear her breathing and was amazed at how high her heart rate had gone up. Feeling Barkin stand beside her, Kim whispered silently to him, worried that speaking any louder might bring alert the darkness outside to their presence. "Mr. Barkin...what do we do?"

He stood silently for a moment to consider their options. After many tense seconds he answered her with as much authority and confidence she had ever heard him speak. "Keep away from the windows," he said. "And try to keep everyone calm. Something tells me we're in it for the long haul, Possible."


	3. So Much the Drama

**Darev: **This chapter lays the foundation for several subplots. Each character has his/her own drama to deal with, which will make Kim's job a lot harder. Not much action, but plenty of drama. The next chapter's almost done and I might put it up just in time for Halloween.

Thanks to Daydreamer9, CajunBear73, VivaNewVegas, and Angel-of-Energy for leaving reviews.

* * *

Removing Drakken and Shego from sight became first priority for the last thing the frightened patrons of Smarty Mart needed to see were the bloodied bodies of two of the world's greatest supervillains lying in plain sight. Moving the table out of the way so as to make space, Kim placed Shego's unconscious form on the nearest couch. Mr. Barkin had set Dr. Drakken down on the adjacent sofa, the two pieces of furniture forming the letter L on the far corner of the wall.

After checking Shego's pulse, Kim found herself looking at her greatest foe. This was Shego, the most dangerous woman alive. She was a living nuclear reactor, able to harness raw plasma in her hand and wield it with the efficiency of a martial artist. In addition to her enhanced speed and strength, she was also brilliant, possessing a keen mind for strategy and tactics. Add to that her unreasonably sharp tongue and even sharper wit and it was no wonder why Kim respected the woman so. Seeing her in this state, broken and beaten, was an image Kim would not forget in a long time. Even when she had kicked Shego into the radio tower after finally defeating her atop of Bueno Nacho headquarters last year, the woman had appeared none worse for the wear. Shego healed remarkably fast thanks to her comet-induced powers. She never stayed down for long and when she came back she hit harder than ever.

But it was more than just her body, Kim knew, for she was there when Shego stumbled through the door, carrying Drakken on one shoulder. The look on Shego's face would stay with Kim until the day she passed from this world. It was the one thing Kim believed that she would never see on Shego's face. It was fear. Shego had been afraid. No matter what the situation or how dire the straits, Shego did not get scared. All that changed less than five minutes ago. Whatever Shego saw out there before the mist had enveloped the parking lot and trapped them all inside the Smarty Mart, it had shaken the usually unshakable villainess to her core.

Now here she was, helpless, defeated, and at the mercy her number-one teen nemesis. Kim imagined she had been her only teen nemesis. She wondered if Shego had anything but nemesis. The woman was a loner. How and why she stayed with Drakken was anyone's guess. Perhaps the mad scientist had something on her. Maybe he paid her well. It could be that of all the villains Shego knew, Dr. Drakken was the easiest to manipulate.

Or maybe it was something else. Looking at Drakken, who was in far worse a shape than Shego, Kim could only guess. Either way, they were hurt. Despite their shared history, Kim Possible helped people and she would not turn her back on anyone, even her enemies. Mr. Barkin, who had some first-aid training thanks to his time in the military, was in the process of helping Drakken as best he could. "How is he?" She asked, knowing that the prognosis wouldn't be good. Barkin was doing his best, but he was no doctor. Drakken needed some serious medical attention.

"He's in bad shape, Possible," Steve answered as he removed the upper half of Drakken's coat to reveal scarred and bloody tissue. The extent of the damage was not lost on them. Drakken's chest was bleeding profusely and unless they stopped the bleeding he would not last the day. "I'll do what I can, but I'm no doctor."

Kim thought of her mother. She could fix Drakken up in a heartbeat if she were here. Perhaps Kim should go get her. She remembered where she'd parked the sloth. She could find it using her key's built-in tracker even in the mist, drive home, pick up her mother and her brothers and bring them back here where it was safe.

_Safe?_ Kim wasn't sure if it was safe anywhere. The mist first appeared in the morning right after the storm. Kim recalled seeing it in the distance, slowly making its way to her neighborhood. No doubt mom would have the house locked down tight. Between her and the tweebs, there was probably no place safer than the Possible house right now. Then she remembered the gaping hole in her bedroom window. The mist could creep in through there. Kim closed her eyes at the image. Then they flashed open. It was only mist, she told herself. There was no sense in getting herself worked up over a little fog. Mom and the boys had faced their share of dangers in the past. They could look after themselves. They were tough. They were Possibles. They will survive.

Then Kim remembered the screams coming from the mist.

"Damn!" Steve's outburst made Kim jump in her place. She stepped back as the large man stood up. "Whatever did this wasn't human."

Looking down at Drakken, Kim felt something bordering on bile making its way up her throat. Drakken's chest looked like it had been hit by a meat cleaver. Blood and puss oozed up from the lacerations and it looked like it would never stop. Kim looked away, horrified. She made it over to the trash bin where she then let out her disgust with audible gags.

Steven Barkin, who had seen his fair share of gore and guts in his days as a soldier, turned away in disgust. "What the hell's going on out there?"

Still puking, Kim put a hand against the wall to keep herself from keeling over. Once she'd finished emptying her bowels, the teen heroine turned to regard Barkin. "Wha...?"

"I can't save him, Possible. Not like this." He looked at her. "The best thing I can do is try to stem the bleeding."

"C-Can you?" She stammered, bile still lingering on her lips.

"Yes. But I'll need your help. Go into the office and see if you can find a first-aid kit. Look for a pin; a paperclip will do just fine, too. So long as it's small and metal and sharp. Also see if you can find some yarn or string. I'll try to sew this man back up after I'm done treating his wounds." Barkin then regarded the gash on his forehead. "This isn't as serious, but I'll need to treat it as well. The last thing we want is infection seeping in."

"What about Shego?" Kim held her stomach as she spoke. She'd never felt so sick in her life.

Barkin observed the sleeping villainess. Her gut went up and down at regular intervals, indicating that she was sleeping. It was far from pleasant, however, and Barkin could see her beautiful face contorted with lines of anguish. She wasn't just asleep, he knew. Shego was having nightmares. Stains of blood, probably more of Drakken's than hers, intermingled with a black substance that smelled of brine and copper all at once. The scent was as unfamiliar as the liquid. Mr. Barkin tentatively traced a finger though the black stuff and held it up for closer inspection. He rubbed it between two fingers.

"Mr. Barkin?"

"I couldn't tell you, Possible." He smelled the tar-like substance. "But you know her better than I do. What do you think her chances are?"

"Shego's tough. I'm sure she'll pull through alright."

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?"

Kim looked at him.

"You're shaken up, Possible." He glanced at Shego. "I realize she's strong. I've read up about her on the newspapers and seen her in action on TV. Anyone that can give you a run for your money is someone worthy of respect."

Kim didn't know what to say. It was the closest thing to praise Mr. Barkin had given her.

"Which is why," he went on, "I believe you're so worried. Seeing her in this state has got you wondering what could possibly have done this to her." He leaned over to observe Shego's leg. The scar ran right over her right calf, which had caused her to limp into the store. "All I can say is that whatever it was, she was able to survive and make it here." He looked back at Kim. "Though she may not, and her guy pal will definitely not, if we don't stop talking and try to help them."

Kim took that as her cue. "I'll check the office."

"And I'll try to scrounge up some clean towels." He turned away and added, "This is going to be one of those days."

The office next door belonged to the store manager and was much better furbished than the waiting area. Kim went through every shelf, every drawer, every place one could put a pin or a needle or anything Mr. Barkin would need to stitch Drakken back up. This was crazy. Two of her most dangerous enemies were lying, dying, next door and here she was trying to find a means to save their lives. It's not that Kim regretted doing so. She did save people afterall. It's just the irony of it was not lost on her. If the situations were reversed, would Drakken or Shego or any of the villains Kim had fought and foiled over the years have done the same for her?

_Where's that damn first-aid kit? Shouldn't it be somewhere obvious like, I don't know, a glass case with a sign that reads "IN CASE OF EMERGENCY BREAK GLASS"? Well this is definitely an emergency. Drakken and Shego are dying and here I am tearing this room apart to find the means to save them. I don't care what they've done. Nobody deserves to die. No one. A Possible would never let this happen. My mom would never..._

That's when Kim stopped. It hit her just then that she was more concerned with saving Drakken and Shego than her own family. What was she still doing here? She should be out there, at home, with her mother and brothers...and her father.

"Possible!" Barkin's voice barked from the doorway. Apparently he'd found what he was looking for and had just returned to the waiting room.

"Still looking." Kim had created quite a mess already. Finding a box of paperclips had been easy and she'd also uncovered a ball of rubber bands. She imagined the manager would not be pleased to find his office in this condition. Unless he'd been one of the employees who fled the scene right after Shego's dramatic entrance...

"Got it!" Like a video game character removing a priceless treasure from a chest, Kim held the first-aid kit high above her head. Sadly, musical accompaniment did not come with the discovery. Why anyone would stow such a valuable item in a desk shelf full of old magazines was beyond her. Perhaps the manager thought he'd be keeping it safe. Safe from everyone...including those who would need it at the appropriate time.

Running back to the living room, Kim found Mr. Barkin using a pair of scissors to cut through the layers of Drakken's coat. "Where'd you get the scissors?"

"Store policy, Possible. All employees must carry a pair of scissors in case of emergencies." Once he had removed the tatters, Barkin motioned for Kim to approach. She did not get too close for the sight of Drakken's wound still affected her. Instead, Kim offered the kit and the items she found and had him take them from her. Opening the kit, the first thing Barkin took out was a bottle. He opened up a towel and began pouring the contents into the fabric. When that was done, Steve began to wash the wound, sanitizing it. Drakken groaned slightly.

"Is he okay?" Kim asked.

"Hardly. This is going to take some time." Barkin offered Kim a look over his shoulder. "I want you to find another pair of scissors and do the same thing to the green lady over there. Watch where you cut. Take a towel and apply the sanitizer carefully before applying it around the wound. Once you've cleaned her up, I'll get around to stitching that cut on her leg."

"You want me to cut her clothes off?"

"There's no telling where else she may be bleeding. We're either thorough or we don't do this at all." He continued to sterilize the wound. "Their lives are in our hands. Now hurry up."

Kim did as she was told and found herself an extra pair of scissors from the office. By the time she'd returned, Drakken's upper body was completely exposed and Barkin had just wiped the wound clean. He made sure to do the same to the gash on his forehead before closing it up using that bandaged he'd pulled out of the first-aid kit. Now came the part that Kim did not want to watch: stitching the wound together. Instead she focused on dealing with Shego and turned her back to Mr. Barkin. The man may be a hard ass sometimes, but he knew his stuff.

Following his instructions, Kim cut the fabric off of Shego's leg. Sanitizing it was easy enough, though the black goo was surprisingly sticky and Kim had to go through a few towels before she managed to remove it all. She then went about searching Shego's sleeping body for any hidden wounds. Barkin was already deep into his surgery and could not look up. Bit by bit, needle by tenuous needle, he began to sew together the pieces of Drakken's severed flesh using rubber band shreds he had cut. It was an unorthodox operation and one surely to go down in history in the Guinness Book of World Records. Steven Barkin: former soldier, high-school teacher, Smarty Mart employee, rinky-dink surgeon. The man's resume must go on for a mile.

By the time he had finished, Kim had backed away and was staring at Shego. She didn't even hear him come up behind her and did not sense him until he placed a thick, heavy hand on her tiny shoulder. "I'll take it from here, Possible."

"Thanks, Mr. B." Kim gave him all the room he needed and more. She didn't want to here when he went to work on Shego. Removing herself from the room, Kim went out into the hallway, shutting the door behind her. Lying back against the door, she let out a heavy sigh. In a short span she had seen enough things to give her nightmares for years to come, and it wasn't even lunch time yet.

Kim felt sick, too sick to be thinking about food right now. She grabbed her stomach as an uncomfortable burp escaped her lips. The remnants of bile still lingered on her breath and she fought the urge to gag again. Seeing Drakken and Shego, hearing the voices of terrified people as the mist enveloped them, not knowing what became of her family...it was just too much.

Fearing the worse but hoping for the best, Kim tried to use her wrist Kimmunicator. She dialed in the signal for home and got nothing but static. Defeated, Kim shut off the device.

"Kim!" Monique came running down the hall; her face showing more concern than Kim was used to seeing on her best friend. "You've got to come downstairs. Now!"

Before Kim could respond, Monique had grabbed her by the hand and was pulling her towards the stairs. "What's going on? What's happened?"

"There's a woman trying to leave the store."

That was all she needed to hear. Untangling herself, Kim rushed by her friend and flew down the stairs, Monique right on her tail.

* * *

"You can't go out there!" Ron pleaded, standing between the door and a thirty-something woman with platinum blonde hair. Rufus was on his shoulder, waving his tiny pink arms frantically in an attempt to dissuade the woman from leaving. "It's suicide!"

Tears in her eyes, her voice frantic, the woman did not seem to hear him. Maybe, she just didn't care. "I have to go. Let me out!"

"You can't. It's not safe out there."

"I don't care." She made to go right through Ron. Ron was not a confrontational man and he would never on his best day lay a hand on a woman he didn't know, but concern for her safety took precedence and he was forced to stand in her way, shielding the door with his body. A crowd had gathered not far off, watching the drama unfold but making no move to hinder or support him.

She tried to push him away. Ron grabbed her by the arms. "Stop it! I'm trying to help you."

"Let go of me!" She tried to pull away, but Ron was just too strong. Still she struggled. "You have no right. Let me go!"

"Crazy bitch," Bonnie said. She was standing a few feet away with her arms crossed. Ned was beside her, looking between Bonnie and Ron and wondering if he should get involved. He agreed with Ron's assessment, that it was just far too dangerous to step outside with the mist and everything, but seeing as how no one was doing a thing to aid Ron in stopping the woman, the group mentally affect had taken hold and Ned reserved himself to being the spectator.

Luckily, help came in the form of a redhead with stunning green eyes. Kim wedged her way between the crowd and moved to intercept the woman, Monique bringing up the rear. Fearing it would come to blows, in which case the lady would get violent and Ron would be forced to subdue her (a very real possibility), she went to fetch Kim in the hopes that the woman would listen to the local heroine.

"Kim!" Ron's voice exuded relief upon seeing her. "Help me out here."

"What's going on?" Kim put herself between her boyfriend and the woman, whose eyes widened at seeing her. "Why are you trying to leave?"

"Kim. You're Kim Possible." The woman grabbed her arms. "You help people, right? That's what you do."

"Yes. I help people." She tried not to react as the woman's sharp nails dug into her. "Now what's this all about?"

"My children. You must help my children."

Now Kim's eyes widened. "What happened?"

"They're all alone." That revelation seemed to stall the blonde woman. Her mouth hung open as her statement hung in the air. She released Kim, looking to the ground, and stepping back. "I left them...all alone." The first tears began to fall. "I left them all alone," she repeated. "I...I left them...they don't know any better...they're all alone."

Now it was Kim grabbing the lady. She forced her to look up. "Madame, you have to tell me. Where are your children? Did you leave them in the car?" Kim turned to look outside the doors. The mist prevented any visibility and she did not fancy going out there. However, if there were lives at stake, they would have to chain her down before...

"No."

Kim looked back at the woman. "They're at home. I left them at home."

Kim's heart sank.

"I told them I'd be right back." She spoke to Kim as if she was trying to absolve herself of some crime, that she hadn't _dun_ it. "I told Cathy to watch out for little Michael. I told them I was just going for some groceries and candy and that I'd be right back. I didn't mean to take this long. I was just doing some shopping. It wasn't supposed to take this. I just..." sobs cut off her next words.

Ron looked at Rufus. The mole rat moaned sadly. They both knew where this was going.

In the crowd, Monique held her hand to her chest. Bonnie, for all her cynicism, could only look away, saddened by the truth of the matter. Ned gawked, not believing what he had heard. What would Kim do?

"Please," the woman begged. "You have to help me get them. They're not safe."

Kim gathered up the courage to speak. It would be a trying task indeed to convince this woman not to go. "Listen to me. I know you're worried about your children, but it's not safe outside. You have to stay here."

The mother looked at Kim as if she'd just told her that her children were dead.

"You said they're home, right? Well right now that's the safest place to be. So long as they're inside they will be okay."

"N-No...no they..."

"It's alright. They'll be fine."

"No! You don't understand!" Her shout silenced Kim immediately. "Michael likes to play in the yard. He likes being outside. Cathy, she..." the mother looked away again. "She likes to watch TV. Sometimes...sometimes she forgets to watch Michael. She leaves the door open and forgets to check up on him. The back door is always open when I come home. Michael is always outside." Her face shot back. "Oh God! You have to help me! Help me, please! I'm begging you. Help me!"

She was grabbing at Kim, like she was drowning and Kim was the life raft, shaking the teen violently. "You have to help me save them. That's what you do. You save people. Help me save my children."

"You can't." Monique rushed to her friend's aid, pulling the hysterical woman off of her and spinning her around. "Miss, if you go out there, you will die. You can't help your children if you're dead."

"How do you know that? How do you what will happen?"

"Did you not hear the screams? Didn't you hear the people dying?"

"What about the green woman," Ned spoke for the first time, "and the blue man that came in earlier? Do you want to end up like them?"

"Oh my God!" The woman lost control. "Whatever did that to them could still be out there. It might get my children. It might get Cathy and Michael. Let me go! I have to save them!" She lashed out at both Kim and Monique, forcing them away. They tried to calm her to no avail.

Bonnie glared at Ned. "Nice move, retard."

"But I was only trying to help."

"How about you stay silent for rest of your life? That will help."

Ned didn't say anything else.

Oscar came through the crowd at that moment. "What's going on?" He asked Ron while watching the three women tussle. When Ron filled him in, Oscar couldn't believe what he'd just heard. "But she can't go out there. Good heavens, Ron, that cloud could be poisonous."

"Mind telling her that?" Monique called from where she tried to hold onto the screaming mother.

Oscar rushed in to help. "Miss? Miss! You can't leave. That could be radiation out there for all we know. It might be what killed the people in the parking lot. If you go out there you might die."

"Michael! Cathy!"

"You're no good to your children dead. You must stay here with us where's it's safe." Oscar tried to be as reassuring as possible. "Trust me. Someone will come."

"I won't!" Breaking free of Monique, the mother swung her hand around and slapped Kim in the face. Shocked more than hurt, Kim grabbed her injured cheek and stepped away. They all did, as the distraught mother made her way toward the door. She looked at them and everyone who had stopped to watch the confrontation. But then her gaze fell on Kim. "I thought you helped people." She backed away one step at a time. "You're a lie."

That statement stung Kim more than she cared to admit. "Now you listen to me," she addressed everyone. "I'm going out there...to save my little girl and boy. I'm going to hold Michael in my arms. I'm going to brush my hand through Cathy's beautiful hair and tell her that everything is going to be okay." She was crying freely now. "I'm a single mother whose only purpose in life is her children. And I would rather risk it in an attempt at saving them...than spend another moment in here with you. You're all cowards - each and every one of you." Her eyes fell on Kim. "You can all go to _hell_."

The floor sensor felt her weight and the door slid open. The mother turned to face the darkness and everyone held their breath, literally. After a few tense seconds, the mother stepped outside, the doors closing behind her. When it became apparent that the mist was not toxic, an audible sigh escaped the crowd. Kim made to go after the woman, to try to convince her otherwise, but a hand stopped her. It was Ron. Her boyfriend's eyes told her there was nothing she could do and that it was pointless to try.

Looking back out the door, Kim watched as the woman hugged herself, like she was cold. She was alone, Kim knew. She was alone and would probably die alone. Kim wanted to go with her, to help her.

_"You're a lie."_

"No..." Kim reached out to her but the mother was gone, swallowed up by the mist.

* * *

News of the woman's departure - it was later learned that her name was one Margaret Vespers - had circulated throughout the store. Many had considered leaving as well but remained inside for fear that the mist was some kind of poisonous fume. Despite learning otherwise, only a handful continued to entertain thoughts of leaving for while the mist was not lethal they still remembered the screams of those who ran out to their cars. Patrons huddled far from the doors and windows. Parents consoled their children. Lovers held each other in their arms. Friends and neighbors cringed in fear, wondering what fate could have befallen their loved ones. They were cut off from the outside. It's as if the world had left them behind and they were all that remained of what once was.

Kim and Ron walked side by side. Margaret's parting words, the look of betrayal on her face as Kim revealed that she would not help her, weighed heavily on the young woman's heart. Kim had never turned anyone away in her life. She may as well have cut her own arm off and throw it away for it felt like she was missing a piece of herself. Peace of mind? Strength of character? Whatever it was, Kim knew that there was a void in her soul and no manner of consoling, even by the best boyfriend in the world, could fill it.

Not that Ron could be criticized for lack of trying.

"She was going," he went on, "with or without you. Any mother would have done the same. Yours. Mine. Monique's. It's how they're built."

"I turned her down, Ron."

"She was asking for too much. Having you kill yourself for her sake wouldn't have helped anybody." Ron grabbed her by the wrist, stopping her cold. "Kim, you realize that we're never going to see her again, don't you?"

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"No. I'm just pointing out the obvious. No one who goes out there comes back. You heard the screams. You saw Shego." Ron lowered his voice. "There's something out there, Kim. I don't know what it is but I know it kills people. If you went with her, we'd have never come back."

She looked at him. "We?"

"Duh! What, you think I'd let you go out there all by yourself. We're a team. You go, I go."

Rufus chimed in. "Me too!"

Despite the circumstance, Kim smiled. Her boys had a way of making everything better no matter how bleak things were. "Thanks. Both of you."

"Always." Ron slid his hand down to her fingers. They walked together now. "So what's our next move?"

"What do you mean?"

"Lot of scared people here, Kim. Someone's going to have to take charge."

"And you think that's me?"

"There's no one better. You're Kim Possible. People listen to you."

"Ms. Vespers didn't."

"It was her choice, Kim. You can't be responsible for everyone."

"Isn't that exactly what you're telling me to do?"

"That's different. The people here, they're still alive. We can only worry about the here and now."

"And what about our parents, Ron? Our siblings? You're saying we don't worry about them because they're not here?"

"I am worried." Ron's face fell. "Mom. Dad. Hana. I'm worried about all of them. Don't you think a part of me wants to pull a Ms. Vespers and go running out of the store to see if they're okay? I'm scared for them." He looked up. "But my dad's an actuary and he told me that you have to weigh the risks in any given situation. I can go off into the mist...and die...or I can bunker down, keep my head low, and wait and see how things play out. My chances of survival are better knowing where I stand. Any good actuary knows that. If my dad were here he'd say the same. Besides, he's the smartest man alive. He'll keep my mom and Hana safe until I get back. They'll be alright."

Kim heard his voice break slightly at the end of that sentence. It sounded like he was trying to convince himself of his own words. "Ron." She smiled when he looked at her. "You're right."

"I am?"

She nodded.

He was relieved. "Good because I'm not good with pep talks."

"You did just fine back there."

"Only when you're around, KP. It's like you bring out the best in me, you know."

"Right back at ya." Kim nuzzled her nose into his cheek.

"There you are." Mr. Barkin came up to them before they could continue any further shows of affection. "Thought you might like a status report."

"How are they, Mr. B?"

The gruff man stood with his hands clasped behind his back. "I patched them as best I could, but I won't lie to you, Possible. They need surgery, which is far beyond my range of skill."

Ron chuckled. "Too bad your mom ain't stuck in here with us."

Kim glared at him.

"Or not." He turned away.

"How long do you think they'll last?"

"The woman wasn't as bad. She must have some advanced healing abilities to go along with those powers. Her breathing has returned to normal and she was sleeping soundly last I saw her."

Relief flooded Kim. Strange that she should feel so much concern over her mortal enemy.

"But it doesn't exclude the chances of contamination. I have no idea what that black stuff is and some of it might have seeped into her wound. There's a strange pigmentation forming around her leg. If I were a betting man, which I'm not, I'd say it's infected."

Kim inhaled sharply.

"The blue man is another story. He's needs emergency EVAC ASAP."

"Did you and Monique go to the same school?" She asked.

Ron clarified. "He means he needs to be evacuated as soon as possible."

"I knew that!"

"Sure."

Turning back to Barkin, Kim repeated, "So what's the prognosis? How much time do they have?"

"Hard to say with the infection and my lack of..."

"Just give us a ballpark estimate."

"Two days. Three at the most."

_Damn. That's not enough time._

"My thoughts exactly," Steve said as if reading her mind.

"We have to help them." Kim began to think aloud. "Doesn't Smarty Mart have medical supplies?"

"Smart Mart has everything. But Kim, even if we have the tools we don't have the training to perform surgery."

"We don't," Kim told Ron, "but maybe somebody else does. Ron, can you and Mr. Barkin go around and see if there's a doctor in the house?"

"Good call, Possible." Mr. Barkin regarded Ron. "I'll take the east wing."

"And me the west."

"I'll ask around, too. Middleton's full of smart people. We might get lucky." Kim nodded to Barkin and Ron as they split up, all heading to different parts of the store.

* * *

Bonnie finally found the restroom after asking for directions. Smarty Mart was huge. It was a wonder people found anything here. All the signs were in different languages––just _how many Mayas lived in Middleton?––_and it was a quest just to find one in a language you could understand. After closing the door and choosing the nearest stall to do her business, Bonnie sat down and finally had some time to think.

_What am I doing here?_

All she'd wanted was to go cruising. Now she was stuck in a hand-me-down mall filled with people she didn't know, minus the nuisances from school, and surrounded by a thick fog that apparently ate its victims alive. Fate was always cruel to her. If she had to be stranded it couldn't have been on some private beach with bronzed waiters serving her caipirinhas. Or at least Junior's island; that place was as self-reliant as a government bomb shelter. She would have had access to a pool, a sauna, and maybe even take in a mud bath. The Seniors lived in a palace, the kind of place a princess like her belonged. She may have lost her chariot to that fender bender fiasco with that fool Ned, but at the very least she should have called Ju...

_Wait a minute._

Still sitting, Bonnie pulled out her cell phone. She was getting no signal whatsoever. Bonnie had half a mind to flush it down the toilet with all the other waste.

"You're wasting your time," a female voice said.

Gasping, Bonnie looked every which way for the originator of the voice. Looking down and to her left, she spotted two feet with a pair of panties hanging between them. "Who's there?"

"Justine," the girl on the other end replied. "Justine Flanner."

Bonnie thought on it a moment. "Justine. The portal girl?"

"If you're referring to my kinomatic continuum disruptor, then yes. That would be me."

"What are you doing here?"

"Same as you, I'd imagine." Bonnie saw Justine's feet shuffle as she moved to grab some toilet paper. When she was done, Justine got up and flushed, pulling up her underwear before exiting the stall. "Need I explain how things work down there?"

Grimacing, for Bonnie did not like to be criticized, the brunette finished up and flushed. She came out to find the blonde-haired genius washing her hands by the sink. Looking up at the mirror, Justine's stoic face did not waver under Bonnie's scrutinizing stare. "What?"

"I asked what you were doing here." Bonnie washed her hands as well. "And I wasn't talking about the potty."

One of Justine's firm eyebrows went up.

"Why are you at Smarty Mart?" Bonnie asked in frustration. "I thought geeks like you didn't leave your caves."

"I live in a two-story, colonial-style house with a white-picket fence on Emerson Street. Hardly a cave. Though I take it you were using a metaphorical adjective in reference to my room."

"Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"Being a nerd."

"Nerds and geeks are two different things, Bonnie. Though I don't expect you to know the difference." Justine went to dry her hands. "And since when do you care where I choose to spend my time?"

"I don't." Bonnie shut off the faucet. "And you did not choose to be here."

"Oh?" Justine looked back at her. "And you know this how?"

"I know your type. You're like the ants in the fairytale who are prepared for anything. There's no reason for you to leave your house because you already have everything you need."

Knowing the fairytale she alluded to well, Justine said, "Maybe I'm still foraging for the winter."

"Don't give me that. I saw you earlier. You weren't shopping. You didn't have a cart full of groceries. You were just there."

"And now I'm here."

"Why?"

"Why?" The blonde turned on her. "Why do you care why?"

"I don't." Bonnie crossed her arms. "I'm just curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat, Bonnie."

"Yeah, well I'm one tough pussy. So spill."

Despite her attitude, Justine felt herself smile. "You're not as dumb as people say."

"Who says I'm dumb?"

"You're a cheerleader. It goes with the territory."

"I'm not dumb."

"A D average says otherwise."

Bonnie bared her teeth.

"What I mean," Justine began in an attempt to avoid a fight, "is that for all your flaws, you are quite perceptive. You were right in that I did not come here to shop." The smile disappeared. "I followed Kim Possible."

Oval eyes widened at the revelation. "Kim? Why?"

"It is my belief that she knows more about what's going on that she says. I spoke to her yesterday and she admitted that her father was working on a top secret project at the space center. The mist which has trapped us here originated from that area and I have reason to believe that the storm last night was a direct response to whatever it was they researching."

"You mean Kim's dad is responsible for this?"

"I don't know. She denies it, of course. Truly, I think she doesn't want to consider the possibility."

"You confronted her?"

"Twice. She denied me both times." Justine smirked again. "Once more and I can call her Judas."

"Why do you think her father has anything to do with this?"

"Think for a moment, Bonnie." She resisted the urge to add _"Although it might be a stretch for you."_ "Dr. James Timothy Possible is the top scientist at the space center. The military comes in and practically takes over the town due to the activities at the facility. Now don't you think that if there's one person in the Tri-City area who has inside knowledge of those activities, it would be the head of research and development?"

Bonnie had to give her that. "Okay. So maybe Dr. Possible did know something. Even if he told Kim, what makes you think she'd tell you?"

"She wouldn't, which is why I'm trying to unearth the truth."

"You think that Kim's dad is the reason we're all stuck here?" The look on Justine's face told Bonnie she had hit the mark. "You're serious."

"Deadly."

"Look, I may not like Kim or her family, but I've been to her house and met her folks. They are the nicest people on earth. They'd never do anything to hurt a fly let alone the Tri-City area."

"Maybe he made a mistake."

"What? He hit the wrong switch?"

"Or he trusted the wrong people."

"He's too smart for that."

"It sounds to me like you've got a soft spot for the Possibles."

"The only soft spot I have is the part that's not going to come in contact with your face if you don't start making sense."

Justine did not appreciate being threatened. She was the same height and weight as Bonnie, though the brunette was better-toned thanks to her cheerleading activities. In a fight, she'd no doubt that Bonnie would defeat her. Instead of fisticuffs, Justine fell back on her greatest muscle: her brain. "Look. Maybe Kim does not know everything. She might not know anything at all. But I know it in my gut that a Possible is somehow connected to all this. She's the key to figuring this all out and I won't leave until I learn what was going on."

"So you're going to spy on her?"

"I don't trust her."

"That's one thing we have in common."

"That and we're both being kept in the dark. Talk to her, Bonnie. Ask questions. You might learn something."

"I don't take orders, Justine."

"A suggestion then." Justine stepped around her. They were ear to ear now and close enough to whisper and be heard. "The shit will hit the fan, Bonnie. The mist is only the beginning. People are scared, and when you get enough people scared they begin to turn on each other. When that happens, they always look for something, or someone, to blame. Chances are all that blame will fall on one person. Who do you think that's going to be?"

Bonnie said nothing.

"Exactly." With that, the blonde left the brunette mulling it over in the restroom. Bonnie couldn't see it but Justine had been smiling when she left. She may have lacked physical power, but Justine was a genius. Planting the seeds of doubt was the first step in harvesting a crop of loyal allies.

* * *

Apparently there wasn't a doctor in the house. Kim looked everywhere, asked everybody she saw if they were doctors or knew someone that was with no luck. Something her mother had said came back to her then, about how during times of trouble emergency personnel were to report to the hospitals, police stations, and firehouses. That being said, it was unlikely that any of them would have been running out for supplies. Mom would probably have gone to Middleton General Hospital, a place of sanctuary if there ever was one, and that gave Kim tremendous relief.

Earlier, Kim had been afraid of the idea of her family being stuck at the house when the mist came. If mom left for work, she would have taken Jim and Tim with her. They would be safe in Middleton General. Yes, Kim convinced herself, that's exactly what she would have done. If anything, the Tweebs were probably safer than she was stuck here in Smarty Mart. No doubt they'd be more worried about Kim and her whereabouts.

With that idea in mind, Kim was able to concentrate more on what she had to do. It didn't help worrying about people that weren't here when so many people that _were_ here needed her help. Funny, didn't Ron say something along those lines earlier? His pep talk really had done wonders. She'd make sure to mention that to him when next they regrouped.

Yet there was still the matter of what happened to his family. It would be shameful of her to rejoice in her family's safety while his might still be in danger. _At least Ron didn't have a tree sticking through his window, _Kim thought. Their house was secure and Ron's parents were nothing if not vigilant.

She was just passing a door that said EMPLOYEES ONLY when she heard someone crying. Pausing, Kim swore she recognized the voice. It was a girl's voice. She gently pushed the door open and peeked inside. It was the employee's dressing room and there were lockers on either side of the entrance. Standing at the far end, her back to Kim and in the arms of her lover, was Tara Strong.

"Tara? Josh? What are you doing here?"

Tara stopped sobbing long enough to look back at Kim. Josh looked up from where he'd had buried his face onto the top of Tara's head. Judging from the dried tears on Tara's face she had been crying for some time. The blonde wiped them away as best she could with her hand. "Hey, Kim."

"Are you okay?" Kim entered the room. She knew it was a pointless question. Josh and Tara were trapped here just like everyone else. They were no doubt worried about their families and wondering if they'd ever see them again.

"Not really," Tara answered. She pulled away from Josh as if embarrassed all of a sudden, hugging her arms like she was cold. "I'm scared, Kim. There's just so much happening."

"We're all scared, Tara." Kim came to her and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Who wouldn't be in a time like this?"

"There were too many people around," Josh explained, "so I tried to find a place private enough where we could talk."

"As you can see, we didn't do much talking." Tara insinuated with another wipe of her eyes. "Josh just wanted to comfort me."

"That's nice," Kim said. Then she was taken aback when Tara offered her a pained stare. "Tara?"

She looked back to Josh who just smiled. It was a smile that could like up a thousand rooms, Kim noticed, and had been one of the features she so admired about Josh when they had dated.

"What is it?" Kim asked.

"Nothing." But Tara was lying. It was too obvious to Kim.

Josh knew it too which is why he said, "Come here, Tara."

Tara didn't. In fact, she moved away from both of them, out of their consoling circle. "Please. Kim. Josh. I...I think I want to be alone for a while."

Tara could have kicked Josh in the gut and it wouldn't have hurt as much. He was asking him to leave her in a time like this? What was going on? "Tara?"

"Please." Tara moved over to the opposite corner to grieve, her back to them.

The talk they had the other day replayed in Kim's mind. She figured she knew what was going on but had to be sure. "Josh." Kim escorted him toward the door and when they were out of earshot from Tara, told him in a private voice, "Let me talk to her. I think I know what this is about."

"But why won't she tell me?"

"Sometimes girls are confused." Actually, it's a lot of times, but she didn't tell Josh that. "They don't how to speak to boys. There are some things you can only talk to guys about, right? Well it's the same for us."

"But I'd never judge her. If she can't trust me..."

"It's not she doesn't trust you. It's just that she's embarrassed." She let Josh look back at Tara who was still crying in the corner. Then he looked back and Kim said, "Girl stuff."

"You're telling me she's distraught over personal hygiene issues? Kim, I hardly think that matters here."

"To a guy, maybe. But girls are always worried about things like this." She grabbed his arm in an attempt to hurry him along. "Look, I'll calm her down. Why don't you go outside, see if there's a doctor in the house?"

"Why would Tara need a doctor?"

"It's not for Tara. You remember that man and woman that stumbled into the store? They need medical attention. I was looking for one when I heard Tara crying. If you can find one for me, it'd be a big help." She whispered to him as she nudged him toward the door. "I'll fill you in later. Trust me, Josh."

Against his will, and seeing as it was Kim Possible telling him to leave, Josh left reluctantly. Alone with Tara, Kim made sure Josh was gone before approaching her. "Okay, Tara. Josh left. What's wrong?"

"You know what's wrong, Kim."

"I'd rather hear it from the horse's mouth."

"Are you saying I'm fat?"

"Tara."

She finally turned around. "What do you want me to say, Kim? I'm scared. I'm worried about my parents. I'm afraid that whatever happened to those people in the parking lot might happen to them. I wish I'd stayed home. I wish I didn't leave with Josh."

"Why did you leave? For that matter, what are you two doing here? I thought the consensus in the squad was that Smarty Mart was a no-go zone."

"Why are you here then?"

"Ron needed a lift. He works here, remember?"

"And Bonnie?"

One of Kim's eyebrows went up. "You knew we were all here? Were you hiding from me or something?"

Tara shook her head in frustration. "Josh works here, alright!"

Kim gawked.

"That is, he's supposed to. His family's been hit hard financially and they need a little extra money coming in." Tara hugged herself again. "His paintings weren't selling so he tried to get a job at Smarty Mart to help his folks pay the bills."

"Oh, Tara." Kim covered her mouth.

"He doesn't want to. He knows what people might think of him, and me, if they knew he worked at Smarty Mart. He applied for a position last week and was accepted. After the storm hit, all employees were supposed to report for work. Since it was his first day, Josh asked if my family needed anything. Now that he worked here, he figured that he could get me a discount on supplies. We needed a few things and since this was an emergency I decided to forgo the whole 'no-go zone' thing and accompany him." Tara stopped for a moment. "He's so sweet, thinking of me and my family even when his own is having trouble."

Kim had no idea. She never knew Josh was in such dire straits. One would not think that Josh Mankey, the supposed sweetheart of Middleton High, was having financial troubles. It just goes to show that you can't judge someone based on looks or popularity.

"We'd just arrived. I spotted you and Ned on line when we came in. I wanted to say hi, because I knew you wouldn't judge me considering that your guy works here too. But then I saw Bonnie and I backed off. She's the last person I want knowing about Josh's troubles."

"Good call. She'd have the gossip machine run you over when we got back to school."

"I mean she's my friend, but she can be so cruel sometimes. She thinks it's great that I'm dating Josh, but if she found out what was going on she'd tarnish his reputation, and by association, mine. She lives for the food chain. So Josh isn't as stable as everyone thinks he is. He's still a great guy. Who cares where he works?"

"She wouldn't understand." _Wouldn't care, more like it._ "Is that why you're hurting, Tara? Because you're afraid of what Bonnie might say if she found out?" Kim hoped it wasn't so. Tara shouldn't have to live her life based on what Bonnie thinks. The brunette can be mean, but that's because she didn't know any better. Besides, if after what Kim learned of her personal life, being picked on by two big sisters who were ten times the bitch Bonnie will ever be, is it any wonder? Kim actually felt sorry for her.

But Tara shook her head. "No. I'm still thinking about breaking up with Josh."

"It's not because of his family problems, is it?" When Tara didn't say anything, Kim stressed, "Is it?" Surely Tara couldn't be that shallow?

"No. But, Kim, we talked about this the other day. I just don't feel the same way about him anymore. But I'm afraid to break up with him. He's too good for me. He thinks about me even with all that's going on at home. If I broke up with him now, after everything that's happened, what would he do? I think he loves me, Kim. He spent the last twenty minutes being with me, brushing my hair, telling me that it was all going to be alright and that he'd keep me safe, that he'd take me home to my folks. He's just too perfect." Tara leaned back against the locker. "What do I do?"

"That is a dilemma. But Tara, you've got to come clean with Josh. Pretending you two are still an item isn't fair to him. He's a wonderful guy and seeing as how you're willing to take his feelings into consideration shows that you're a wonderful person too. You have to be honest. Tell him how you feel, but don't lead him on. That will only make it worse."

"But how?"

"Just talk to him."

"You mean dump him right now? I can't do that."

"But Tara..."

"Kim. It would devastate him."

Kim believed that Tara was giving herself too much credit. Sure Josh may be hurt, but he'd live. "Okay, maybe not now. But when this is all over and you two are back home safe and sound, you have to tell him. Seriously, Tara."

Tara held one of her arms in a nervous gesture. Finally nodding her head, she looked at Kim and said. "Okay."

"Good." Then to Kim's surprise, Tara jumped into her arms and gave her a hug.

"Thank you, Kim; for listening and understanding."

Kim returned the hug. "You're welcome."

* * *

Outside the room, a spectacled boy had been listening on the whole exchange. Ned covered his mouth as he leaned back against the wall outside the door. He had been walking by when he saw Josh Mankey leaving the employee's only room and wondered what was going on. He looked troubled and Ned, being naturally curious, decided to poke around.

He opened the door slightly and saw Kim and Tara talking to one another. After finishing their discussion, Ned could not believe his ears. Tara was thinking of breaking up with Josh! This was big news. Coming from a boy who lived at the lowest rung of the Food Chain, to know that two higher-up like Josh and Tara had problems like everyone else was an empowering experience. The question now was what to do with this knowledge? Ned wasn't a gossiper by trade, but he imagined that Bonnie would love to hear about this little tidbit.

Then again, Bonnie treated him like crap so screw her.

But to speak of this would be like betraying Kim's trust. Ned liked Kim. She was one of the few popular girls who treated him with respect. Okay, she was the ONLY popular girl to treat him with respect. To go blabbing on about this to the general public would be a horrible thing to do. Hence, Ned decided to keep this a secret. Perhaps if he admitted this to Kim, to show her that he was a trustworthy man worthy of keeping her secrets, she might put in a good word with him with a certain young woman that he had his eyes on for a while.

Yes, Ned decided. He would do the honorable thing. Hearing Kim and Tara approaching the door, Ned moved to disappear, taking the hidden conversation with him.

* * *

"Ron!" Looking over his shoulder, Ron was pleased - and genuinely surprised - to see his friend Felix Renton closing the distance between them on his highly-modified wheelchair.

"Felix! Dude!" Ron and Felix pounded their fists together.

"I thought I recognized your goofy haircut." He spotted Rufus on Ron's shoulder. "What's up, Rufus?"

"Hi!" Normally any friend of Ron's was a friend of Rufus (not that Ron had that many friends to begin with) but the fact was that Rufus really did like Felix. As a naked mole rat living in a human's world, Rufus had to live with daily handicaps. He couldn't get anywhere without using Ron as a mode of transportation, pretty much like how Felix relied on his wheelchair to get him from place to place. They both had a similar outlook on life in that they didn't let their conditions get in the way of living it. Despite his gentle appearance, Felix had an animalistic quality that Rufus truly admired. Like Ron, Rufus saw Felix like some kindred spirit. The three got along like they were born brothers.

"So what brings you to my neck of woods?" Ron asked.

"I'm stocking up on some essentials. Mom usually does the shopping, but she's stuck at the space center so I pretty much had to look after myself for the past few hours."

"That's right. Your mom fixes robots."

"More like she builds, upgrades, and maintains all of the space center's high-tech equipment. She's the head of their cyber-robotics division." Felix tapped his armchair. "Who do you think gave me this puppy?"

"Wanna trade pets?" Ron winced as Rufus playfully jabbed him in the cheek. "Just playing with ya, Rufus. So did you find what you were looking for?"

"I only came here to get a few things. I was in the back when I heard the siren. That's when I came upfront to see Kim screaming at us to get out of Dodge."

"Kim said she spoke to her father last night."

"Impossible," Felix admitted. "The space center's on lockdown. No incoming calls or out."

"Impossible? Have you forgotten the name?"

"Touché. Go on."

"Mr. Dr. P said that if the siren went off, Kim was to take her family and leave. It's supposed to be some sort of doomsday warning or something."

"Well it looks like doomsday to me." Felix said that just as he was looking toward the windows. The mist swirled menacingly outside. Hard to believe that the only thing keeping the people of Smarty Mart safe was a few centimeters of plain glass. "I sure hope mom is okay."

"Momma Renton is good, Felix. Kim's dad would never let anything bad happen to this town."

"Then why the siren? Why did he tell Kim to leave if she heard it?"

"Just to be safe."

"Does it look safe out there, Ron?"

"No...I guess not."

Felix closed his eyes. "Mom was always hush-hush about everything that went on at the space center. She'd come home late at night, thinking I was asleep. But I was awake. I'd hear her footsteps as she came to my room to see me. I pretended to be sleeping and deep down I think she realized I was faking it. She'd stand there and watch me and I could feel the concern in her eyes. Each morning we'd sit at the table and have breakfast. Mom was always tired from working all those late shifts, but she tried to be upbeat. The last thing she wanted was to make me worry."

Ron could tell that his friend was deeply troubled by this turn of events. Ms. Renton was a lovely woman; kind, beautiful, who cared deeply about her son, the kind of woman boys would kill to call mom. She was all Felix had, but Ron never considered how close they were. He had two parents, a best friend, a girlfriend, and a little sister. The absence of a father or sibling meant that Felix relied more on his mother for tune-ups for his wheelchair. He relied on her for companionship. Having her at the space center all this time meant that Felix was alone in that house. _All alone._

"I could see that something was bothering her. Whatever they were working on at the facility was top secret and she couldn't tell me, her only son, what was going on. All she told me was that they'd be done real soon and that we could hang out again. We haven't spent time together in a long time. I miss her." Felix looked at Ron. "It's hard when your only parent is a genius."

"Dude, why didn't you call me? I would have come over and we'd have hung out together."

"Thanks, Ron. But I had someone to keep me company."

Stoppable's eyes widened. "Who?"

Felix smiled. "Zita Flores."

Now his eyes almost fell out of their sockets. "Seriously?"

"She's been helping me study. That girl's a whiz in history."

"Dude! You and Zita?"

"Shh!" Felix looked around. "Keep your voice down."

Ron lowered his voice. "That's great. Zita's one of the hottest girls in school."

"It's not like that. I mean she is, and I like her and everything, but..."

"Felix, bro, there is no 'but' when you're with a hottie-hot-hottie like Zita Flores." Then it hit him. "Okay there is-_but..."_

"Ron." Felix shut him up. "So far we've only been study buddies. I'd like to be more but so far she's given me nothing but mixed signals. I don't know if she's waiting for me to make the first move or something else. All I know is that I'd like to ask her out on a date."

"Dude! You should do that."

"Yeah right."

"But you just said you liked her."

"I do. It's just that I..." Felix looked at himself.

"Come on. Zita won't care about that. She's not that kind of girl."

"How do you know?"

"The Ron Man knows a thing or two about the ladies. In case you haven't noticed, I'm currently hooked up with the head of the Middleton Cheer Squad."

"Humble much?"

"All I'm saying is that Zita's cool. She'll love being with you, man. You've got the whole Steven Hawking/Professor X thing going for ya."

Felix chuckled.

"I'm serious. Chicks dig the personality, not the physicality."

"In that case, Kim's 0 for 2."

"That's cold, man."

Felix chuckled louder this time. Even Rufus joined in.

"Et tu, Rufus?"

When Felix stopped, he asked Ron a very serious question. "You really think I've got a shot?"

"One shot is better than none. And trust me, dude, you're fully loaded."

A long silence pervaded the space between them.

"Please rephrase that."

"Yeah, that came out wrong."

"Stoppable!" Steve Barkin came walking up to them. He gave Felix a curt nod before addressing Ron directly. "Any luck on your end?"

"I'm afraid it's a bust, Mr. B."

"What's a bust?" Felix asked the two of them.

"We've been trying to find a doctor who can take a look at Shego and Drakken. Mr. Barkin patched them up as best he could but they need professional help. No offense," he offered Barkin.

"None taken." His eyes fell on Felix next. "Isn't your mother a doctor, Mr. Renton?"

"She's a doctor of cyber-robotics, not people. She was still at the space center when the siren went off."

"I see." While the man's hard face never changed, the boys could tell from his voice that he was a bit disappointed. He rubbed his chin in thought. "Worst case scenario, we have to go out there and bring back help."

"Out there? I don't meant to question your sanity, Mr. B, but are you insane?"

"We're running out of options, Stoppable. Those patients of mine won't last too long without help, and unless we get some news from the outside real soon people are going to start panicking."

"Like they aren't already," Felix muttered under his breath.

"Aside from the man and the woman upstairs, the rest of us have little to worry about. Smarty Mart is stocked with enough supplies to last us for weeks if necessary. We have food and water, beds, heating, lighting,"

The lights went out at that moment. "Or not," Ron said.

The backup generators kicked in and bathed the aisles in a dim yellow hue. Cries of panic rose up throughout the store and more than one child started crying.

"Dammit! As if we didn't have enough to deal with. Stoppable, go to the back and see what's going on with our generator."

"Why do I have to go?" The freckled boy protested.

"Because someone has to run damage control and I have a commanding presence."

"So? I can be in command."

"You can command many things, son. Respect isn't one of them." When Mr. Barkin turned around it was his signal that the debate was over. One glance over his shoulder and that was it. "The lights, Stoppable," and he was gone.

"Got to hand it to him, Ron, people do listen to him."

"One of these days I'm going to earn that man's respect." Hearing the ruckus the blackout had caused, Ron realized that he should hurry. "Come on, Rufus."

"Want me to come with?" Felix asked him.

"Nah. We'll be right back. It's probably a shorted wire or something."

"Are you sure? I might be able to help. I am a mechanical genius' son, afterall."

"It's cool, Felix. Whatever it is, I can handle it."


	4. Contact

**Darev:** Just in time for Halloween. Well only just. This will be the last update for a while. I have quite a bit of work to do for college and not enough time to do it in. Suffice it to say it's been a pretty fun four chapters. The suspense is building and we have our first (witnessed) casualty of the day.

Thanks to Shadowgirl, CajunBear, and Daydreamer for reviewing this story. Thank you guys, and have a Happy Halloween!

* * *

Flashlight in hand, Ron was a puny thing indeed strolling between two aisles of stored supplies that went up to the room's cavernous ceiling. He'd been amazed when he first saw Smarty Mart's legendary storeroom. It was the largest one this side of the Rocky Mountains and could easily encompass Middleton High and at least half the mall. The roof was so high up that Ron's tiny flashlight could never hope to reach it. His footsteps echoed loudly thanks to the room's incredible acoustics. As small as he was, Ron feared that he was making too much noise. Of course there was nothing to be afraid of. He'd been back here several times. Of course then he always had light and there were several employees using forklifts to load and unload supplies.

Now it was only Ron and Rufus, the latter of whom dug his sharp claws into Ron's shoulder out of a growing sense of dread.

"Ease up, Rufus. I don't like this anymore than you do but it has to be done."

"Ooh. Dark."

"Yeah. It is dark. Real dark." Ron flashed the light one way. "Did I take a wrong turn or is this the juncture that branches off to the loading dock?"

One would think Rufus, coming from a species that lived and burrowed beneath the arid lands of Eastern Africa, would have eyes more attune with the dark. However, mole rats have very poor eyesight and relied more on smell to travel their expansive underground burrows. Rufus was born and bred into captivity. He had never so much as seen another of his own kind. Yet he still possessed his species' natural abilities. Sniffing the air beside Ron's head, the rodent was able to discern their destination by smell, locking onto the scent of heated power cords. He pointed to Ron's right with his little fingers.

"I'm trusting you on this one, buddy." Ron naturally trusted Rufus with his life, and has said that only to hear his voice. Rufus was a wonderful traveling companion, but one of the drawbacks of having an animal sidekick was having a partner that could not speak. Rufus could utter a word or two here and there but lacked the necessary vocal cords to express full sentences. Until he'd met Rufus or Kim, Ron had always been by himself. As an only child until recently, he'd learn to cope with his loneliness by creating imaginary friends and speaking to them on a constant basis. It was the only way he could fight back that fear that every person knew too well; the fear of being alone.

So while Rufus chipped in every now and then, Ron did most of the talking. "You know, Rufus, I've been thinking about what I said to Kim earlier. You know the part about worrying about the here and now? Well, to tell you the truth, my folks and Hana have been the only things on my mind since this started. I can't stop wondering if they're alright. I mean I know Hana is some ninja super baby and that my dad is the smartest actuary that ever lived. Mom would shut every window and draw every curtain. She'd have the house sealed airtight. There's no way that mist could get in."

Thinking of home, of Ron's wonderful family, brought a smile to Rufus' face.

"But then I start thinking about those that went outside when the mist came. Something got them, Rufus. It may not be poisonous, but there's something in that fog that's hurting people. Only Drakken and Shego can tell us what it is and they might not live long enough to do that." Ron paused to get his bearings. "Is this the right way?"

Rufus sniffed the air once more and urge him onward.

"Okay. You know it's funny. Well, not funny but ironic. I put myself in danger all the time and my parents never once scolded me for it. Kim's folks are the same but that's because they know what she can do. She's Kim Possible. She can do anything. Me? I'm just her clumsy sidekick. If it weren't for Kim I don't think mom and dad would let me leave the house let alone fight supervillains."

"That way," Rufus announced, pointing Ron in the right direction.

"I always wonder if they think about me while I'm away. Are they scared that I might get hurt or maybe not come back at all? I know they love me but they're hard to read sometimes. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that knowing that my parents might be in danger, that Hana might be in trouble...I just can't stop worrying about them. Is this what I put them through when I go with Kim on missions? Is this what Kim's folks go through when she leaves?" He sighed. "We never take their feelings into consideration. Now the shoe's on the other foot and I'm tripping all over the place."

"There!" The mole rat's exclamation brought Ron's attention to the loading dock. It was a big metal door that rolled up like a giant, steel curtain to allow trucks to bring in supplies. The power generator was nearby. Ron had to circumvent a series of stacked crates around the perimeter of the door. These were the newest arrivals to Smarty Mart that the loading guys had yet to sort out. That always happened early in the morning but with storm throwing the city into chaos and panic, most of Smarty mart's employees did not show up for work. That left more work for Ron, Mr. Barkin, and the few stragglers than remained behind. There'd better be overtime for this.

Using the flashlight to guide him, Ron entered the caged-off area of the generator. He found the main box and hit the restart button. There was a low whir followed by a flickering of the lights and the...nothing. "Come on." Ron pressed the button again. The same thing happened and after two more tries the blonde was getting frustrated. "Maybe I should have let Felix tag along. What do you think, Ru...?" Ron's question was cut off as Rufus slapped a paw over his mouth to silence him. The mole rat had heard something and wanted him to listen.

It wasn't long before his sizable ears picked up on the same thing that had startled Rufus. It was coming from the loading dock door. Something was pressing up against it. "What the hell is that?" Ron mouthed, his voice mute. The sound disappeared but came back again, this time with greater force. Even with the little flashlight, Ron could make out the sight of metal bending toward him. He was standing less than ten feet away from the loading door and the sound of metal giving way perplexed him.

Rufus began to shiver wildly. More attuned to danger given his sixth sense, Rufus sensed the threat long before Ron had even heard the sound.

Suddenly there was a loud bang. Startled, Ron fell backward, coming to a halt on his rump. He scrambled to his feet as he watched the door bending even more. There wasn't just anything on the other side, the boy knew. Whatever it was, it was big and putting its full weight against the door.

Ron once heard an employee boast that even a speeding truck couldn't hope to break down the door. The thing on the other side wasn't trying to break it down. It worked slowly, meticulously, gradually bending and breaking the metal construct to its will.

He was backpedaling. Ron had ever thought to turn and run like mad to find Kim and Mr. Barkin and tell him what he was seeing. But he dare not turn his back. He feared that by doing so he'd be exposing himself to whatever was trying to get inside.

_"There's something in the mist!"_ Shego's words came screaming into his mind then. Then he heard different screams; the cries of those who were outside when the mist came. That something Shego had mentioned had come for them. It got them. It no doubt had gotten Ms. Vespers and now it was trying to get in. _It's trying to get in!_

Something grabbed onto Ron and he screamed, turning around with a vicious backhand that sent the figure crashing to the ground.

"Dude!" A young man's voice complained after reaching for his face. "What's your damage?"

Still racked with fear, Ron shined the light on the perpetrator who turned out to be a familiar face. "J-Junior?"

Still rubbing the spot where Ron had hit him, Thomas Bartholomew Junior resembled what Ron would look like had he grown out his hair and wore a green baseball cap with the front facing back. He too had freckles, pasty skin, and big ears, though unlike Ron, Junior wore a permanent frown on his forehead. His eyes were brown but lacked any shine. It's as if there was nothing going on behind them.

"Yeah." Junior stood up. "Why'd you hit me? Do I owe you money or something?"

"No. At least I don't think so. Wait a minute! What are you doing back here?"

"Just hanging with my bros," he stated in that droll, beach boy accent of his. As he spoke, two more figures stepped out of the shadows. The first was a skinny, African-American kid who wore a red band around short dreadlocks. Like Junior, he too had a permanent scowl. The last of the trio was easily the most eye-catching. He was huge, even bigger than Mr. Barkin, with a weight and girth that made one think he was part grizzly bear.

"Vinnie?" Ron asked the black kid. "And Big Mike?" He turned to the giant. These were the infamous Detention Trio, an undesirable posse of boys who spent all their time in afterschool detention. Kim once had the pleasure of their company when Mr. Barkin grounded her for being late for the third time in a month - not like anyone but he was keeping count to begin with. During their first encounter with Dr. Drakken and Shego, Kim had formed something of a cordial relationship with the trio, though she and they never spoke to one another again.

"Guys, this is a restricted area. Only Smarty Mart employees are allowed back here." Ron leered at them suspiciously. He waved his flashlight over each of their faces like he was a cop and they were suspects at a crime scene. "Are you guys alright?" He could tell by their eyes that they had come in contact with some sort of foreign substance. "You didn't breathe in the mist, did you?"

"The what?" Junior's voice brimmed with confusion.

"We have no idea what you're talking about, man." Vinnie stepped up. "Me and my boys were just crashing here when the lights went out."

"How long ago was that?"

Vinnie shrugged. "Five minutes. Five hours. Time flies when you're flying."

"When you're flying? What are...oh!" Ron's face lit up with recognition. "You were getting high!"

"Getting? Man we've been high!" With that boast, Junior and Vinnie slapped each other a high-five. Big Mike's wide, square face was unreadable save for the twitch on his upper lip at the mention of getting high. After completing their complicated handshake, Junior turned to Ron and said, "Dude, you wanna try some of this stuff? This stuff will make you see God, son."

"You were back here all this time getting high? Do you have any idea what's been happening?"

Reaching into his pocket, Vinnie pulled out a small plastic bag filled with some sort of pale, powdery substance. "What's happening is this, my brother." He unzipped it so that Ron could get a good whiff. Ron stepped back, covering his nose, waving for Vinnie to take it away. Vinnie pulled it back. "I can't even pronounce it, but if it's Mexican for stratosphere then that's where we've been. Am I right, man?" Vinnie asked Junior who swapped another "five" with him.

"Dude."

"Okay, stop! The both of you. You too, Big Mike," Ron said even though the large teen hadn't said anything as of yet. "I don't know how long you've been back here, but we've got a serious situation. Ever since that storm, the whole town's been covered by this weird fog and we can't contact anyone on the outside. We're stuck here and now the power's out."

"Dude, did you say fog?" Junior asked.

"Yes," Ron answered impatiently. "I can't believe you guys didn't know. How long have you been back here?"

"Since yesterday, I think," Vinnie told him.

Before Ron could ask how, Rufus grabbed his attention by pulling his ear. Motioning wildly to the loading door - which had been silent for the duration of their exchange - Ron's eyes lit up. "Hey, did any of you guys hear anything a few seconds ago?"

"Just you, man." Junior spotted Rufus. "Dude, is that like a penis or something your shoulder?"

"Hey!" Rufus spat.

"A penis? No. That's Rufus. He's a naked mole rat."

"Looks like a penis to me, man." Junior leered at Rufus. "Unless my eyes are playing tricks on me."

"I told you this was good stuff, Junior. The dealer said so."

"Yeah, but dude, a talking wang? It's got a mouth and everything."

"Let's not talk about wangs, man."

"But it's standing right there." Junior reached out. "Can I touch it?"

Rufus reflexively leaned back and so did Ron. "Back away, man."

"Why would you want to touch another guy's wang?" Vinnie asked his friend.

"He's _not_ a wang, he's a naked mole rat. And Junior I'm warning you to stay back." Ron had to take two steps back to put him and Rufus out of reach of the abnormally fixated youth. "I don't know what kind of crap you guys are one, but you've got to snap out of it. We're in a real bad sitch, and we've got to work together."

"It's looking at me, man." Still staring at Rufus, Junior didn't seem to have heard a word Ron said. He was obviously the most stoned of the three. Well, maybe Big Mike. The large youth was like a statue, unmoving, unblinking, just breathing heavily in a lumbering goliath sort of way.

Being the most coherent, it was Vinnie who spoke for the group. "Yo, what's this about a fog, man? Cause you know I gotta drive and all that."

"Did you hear anything I just said? No one's going anywhere. There is zero visibility and we are cut off from the outside. Besides," Ron looked over the door. "There's something out there. It was trying to get through the door a little while ago."

"I didn't hear nothing, bro."

Ron's eyes flashed back. "That's because you were back here getting high while people were getting killed!" His ire growing, Ron felt like pummeling the trio.

"Who got killed?"

"People in the mist. Whatever's out there it killed them and now it's trying to get in through the loading door." Ron looked back as he spoke. The door was made of flexible steel that allowed it to revert back to its normal shape, removing the dents he saw earlier. However, for something to bend it had to have had incredible strength, far more than even the most capable human being.

"I thought you said it was a fog."

Finally snapping to, Junior said, "Yeah, dude. We're like too far from the coast for the air and water temperature to be right for mist. And besides, a mist wouldn't be thick enough to hinder visibility like you said."

Ron resisted the urge to slap them both. "Whatever! Look, will you just listen to me for five seconds?"

"It's dark." The voice was so guttural that it reverberated through the ground, startling the three boys. Big Mike spoke for the first time. "What happened to the lights?"

Ron's eyes went wide. "Oh snap!"

* * *

Kim found Bonnie, Monique, and a very fidgety Ned huddled over by the checkout counters at the front of the store. She noticed how Ned purposely avoided looking at her as she approached and wondered what that was all about. She found the behavior of her other companions equally perplexing. Monique, once so charismatic and optimistic, had seemingly lost all vigor. Her gaze was fixed permanently on the windows, cradling her arms as if trying to find comfort within herself. Bonnie was uncharacteristically quiet. Aside from the perpetual scowl on her face, she didn't seem like the girl Kim had come to loathe and dread being around. If anything she looked different from what Kim was become accustomed to. It didn't take her long to realize why that was. Bonnie was scared and was trying to hide that fear behind a glowering persona.

"Hey, guys." Kim tried to sound cheery in an attempt to lighten the mood. It didn't work. Wishing Ron was here - he had a knack for making the most dire straits tolerable - she glanced around and saw nothing but scared and nervous people. So far nobody had decided to go the way of Ms. Margaret Vespers and leave the store. But the tension was such that one might as well be swimming underwater and Kim worried that soon someone may decide it was time to go up for breath. It was like being in the middle of a storm, only to have your head break through the surface and find oneself in a hurricane.

"Hey, Kim." The reply came from Bonnie. The brunette eyed her suspiciously and it made Kim feel very uncomfortable.

"Everything okay?"

"Do we look okay to you?" Now the snarkiness that Kim associated with Bonnie came back in force. "What have you been doing all this time?"

"Trying to find a doctor," Kim answered honestly. She didn't know what Bonnie's beef was with her this time. It's like she thought Kim was trying to cover something up. "Shego and Drakken need help."

"Not to sound I don't care or anything but...oh wait! I don't." Bonnie glared at her. "Hello! You should be trying to save us, not your frienemies."

"Hello! They're dying!" Kim retorted angrily. She knew Bonnie was shallow, but to disregard their well-being just because they were villains was low even for her. "Can you at least try to pretend you're a human being?"

"Excuse me, but aren't they the ones who are always trying to hurt people? Why should I give a damn about them when they don't care about anyone else?"

For all her attitude, Bonnie had brought up a good point. Kim wondered how many people Shego had hurt while stealing things for Drakken, or if Dr. D had ever taken into account how his schemes might hurt or seriously injure innocent bystanders.

Still, Kim wasn't like them and would not tolerate empathy from anyone. "Look, I'm helping them whether you like it or not. I'd do the same if it was you."

"You're comparing me to them?" The brunette sounded genuinely insulted.

"In terms of shallowness, yes I am. Can you stop thinking about yourself for two seconds and consider the possibility that you're not the only one whose life is in danger?"

"Maybe your dad should have thought of that before he screwed up at the space center."

"What did you say?"

"Come on, Kim. We all know that your dad is the head scientist. He's the one who told you to leave town if things went south. Well I don't know about you, but it's certainly starting to look like Dixieland around here."

"What does my dad have to do with any of this?"

Bonnie threw up her hands. "I don't know. Top secret experiment. Military occupation. Big storm. Mysterious fog. Air raid siren. Connect the dots, Kim."

Kim wanted to connect something alright: her hand with Bonnie's face. "Where the hell do you get the nerve to insinuate my father had a hand in all this?"

"Didn't you admit that your father told you to leave town if the siren went off?"

Kim had, back when she tried to urge the patrons to leave the store.

"Well who else but Daddy Possible would know what's going on?" Bonnie walked right up to her. "What else did he tell you, Kim? What else are you not telling us?"

Nearby, people who had heard this conversation began to take notice. Some of them began to gather near Kim and Bonnie, and more than one of them began to eye Kim suspiciously. Kim saw them out of the corner of her eyes but kept her attention focused solely on Bonnie. There was no way she was going to allow doubt and suspicion take hold on an already tense situation. Bonnie was only making things worse by putting all the blame on her. Worse yet, she was inciting suspicion on her father...a fact which brought to mind––

"You spoke to Justine," the redhead surmised. "She told you all this."

Bonnie did not waver. "Was she right?" She asked in a low voice so that no one but Kim could hear.

Taking a deep breath and steadying herself (she and that blonde bitch were going to have a very _serious_ talk when she found her), Kim looked Bonnie right in the eye and said, "Bonnie, I promise you that my father did not have a hand in any of this. If anything, he would have done everything in his power and more to prevent a catastrophe from happening. He'd give his own life before..." Kim stopped.

"Before what?"

She just realized what she was saying, what she was insinuating. "He'd give his own life before letting other people get hurt." And that truth stole the strength from Kim's body. It's true that James Possible would sacrifice himself for the sake of others. But if he had tried and failed, that means that dad would have died for nothing. The mist still came and people died. Is he still alive or had he been among the first victims of the insidious mist?

Catching on to what was bothering Kim, Bonnie's face softened to a sympathetic one. "Oh."

The change in tone brought Kim's face back up from where it had been slouching. She looked into Bonnie's eyes and saw-what?-sympathy? Forgiveness?

Her rival seemed embarrassed and rightfully so. Bonnie was the one who started rumors, not followed them. She was the top of the Food Chain and had allowed herself to be swayed by a social reject's words. She brushed a lock of her brown hair out of her eyes and said, "I'm sorry, Kim. I didn't mean...what I meant was..."

"It's okay." Kim looked away again. She looked pass the suspicious crowd, pass the whispers that went up after following the confrontation, and saw a blonde head in the back. Justine glared at Kim from where she was. Finally, she turned around and walked away.

"Which is more than I can say for a certain someone. Excuse me." Kim went to confront Justine on her spreading dissent among her peers. Then the lights went out. People cried out and for the moment Kim was left standing in the dark. When the emergency lights came on, she saw nothing but frightened faces all around her.

She turned back to her friends who were just as confused as she was. "Kim," Monique started, "what's going on?"

"The power's out, I think." She looked around. "Has anyone seen Ron or Mr. Barkin?"

"I think I saw Mr. B a little while ago," Ned mentioned.

"Where?"

"By the electronics section, I think."

"And that's where exactly?"

Ned shrugged.

"Urgh!" She really needed a map. "This place is huge. I've got to find Ron." Kim went away, avoiding the stares and glares that followed her and thinking of what more fate could to do ruin her day.

* * *

"Hold the light steady!" Ron snapped for the third time. Junior and Vinnie were looking over his shoulder as he tried to restart the generator. Actually, Ron was just flipping switches randomly in the hopes that he'd make the lights go back on. Ron handed his flashlight to Vinnie so that he could illuminate the power box while Ron worked. The boy was easily distracted and would often throw a stupid comment over to Junior who would either chuckle or say "Dude" like it was a sentence. Rufus was situated atop the box and peering over the edge at what Ron was doing. He was no electrician, but even he could tell that what Ron was doing wouldn't work.

"I'm trying, Rufus," Ron said after his friend voiced his disagreement.

"You know what you're doing?" Vinnie asked. "Cause we've been here a while."

"You've been here a while. I came here to work." Ron flipped another switch and when that didn't work he sighed. "This is hopeless. Where's Jacob when you need him?"

"Jacob?" The stoned boys asked in unison.

"The electrician. He didn't come in today." Ron stood up only to have his head come in contact with the flashlight. "Damn, Vinnie! Be careful." He rubbed the sore spot.

"You should've told me you were coming up."

Rufus hopped onto Ron's shoulder before he walked away. The three of them left the generator to find Big Mike right where they'd left him. Mike hadn't said anything else after mentioning it was dark and he just stood there like some giant statue. "Is he okay?" Ron had to ask. "Cause I'm starting to worry about him."

"Mike's cool. He's the strong, silent type," Vinnie mentioned. "'Cept when it comes to the ladies."

Junior chuckled at that. Ron could only role his eyes. Did he used to make stupid comments like that? No wonder he had so much trouble finding a girlfriend.

"Well I have no idea what's bugging the generator."

"Maybe it has a few bugs." Junior laughed even louder.

"Boy, you buggin'," Vinnie said. They both started laughing.

"I'm going to kill them, Rufus," Stoppable muttered. The naked mole rat would have gladly held them down.

A flashlight came bobbing up to them at that moment, followed by a portly gentleman with graying hair. "Ron! What's taking you so long? Steve said he sent you back here like ten minutes ago."

"Hey, Oscar. I found these stoners back here. Apparently they've been lighting up all this time."

Fluent in teenage language, Oscar immediately knew what he meant. "Were you boys responsible for the lights?" He flashed his light to each of the Detention Trio. "Well?"

"We ain't done nothing, pops. Moms wouldn't let us light up at home and teachers said no at school. Cops beef if they catch us on the street so we needed a clubhouse, you know. Some place where the po-po and the 'rents wouldn't bother us none." Vinnie held up his stash. "Wanna take a hit, old timer?"

"Er...no thanks." Oscar bypassed the trio, warily. "So what's wrong with the generator?"

"Have a look."Ron motioned him inside the caged-off area. A long-timer, Oscar was more familiar with the workings of Smarty Mart than Ron. Ron liked him a lot, which is why he took every opportunity to learn and accompanied Oscar to the generator area. When they came back, Oscar was scratching his chin. "Hmm."

"Got something?"

"I'm thinking the generator's clogged up." Oscar regarded him. "This part of the store used to be warehouse. The generator uses an exhaust to vent heat. If it's clogged, then it shuts down to keep from blowing up."

"Well that makes sense. So we'll just have to unclog it."

"Thing is, Ron, that there's no way to do that from in here." He pointed up. "The exhaust pipe's on the roof of this building. Jacob would periodically climb up to make sure there was nothing blocking the vent."

"You mean we have to go outside?"

"Afraid so."

"No. Oscar, that's a bad idea."

"Don't worry, Ron. I'll do it."

But Ron grabbed him. "Oscar, listen to me. There was something trying to get through the loading door a while ago."

"Come again?"

"There's something out there."

"But then how else will we clear up the exhaust pipe?"

"You're not listening. I said it's too dangerous."

"But, Ron,"

"Just trust me. Tell him, Rufus."

Rufus began chattering wildly in his chirping/whistling language; none of which good Oscar could understand.

"Dude, that penis is talking."

Catching his breath, Rufus glared at Junior.

"I don't know what else to do, Ron. If we go back and tell Steven what you told me, he'll look at both of us like we're crazy."

"He already thinks I'm crazy."

"Did any of you boys hear anything?" Oscar asked the trio.

Big Mike remained silent. Junior just stared. Vinnie crossed his arms and shook his head. "Man, we ain't heard shit."

"That's because they were stoned out of their minds. Look Oscar, I'm telling you the truth. You remember when that woman came limping in the store with that man over her shoulder? She said there was something in the mist. I heard that something just now. We can't go out there. Nobody can."

"I can."

All eyes - save for Big Mike's - turned to Junior. "What?"

"I can go outside. I wanna see the boogey man." Junior snorted loudly before chuckling to himself.

"Junior, this is not a joke."

"Dude, you're tripping."

"No, _you're_ tripping."

"No, _you're tripping_."

_"No, you're tripping._"

"Boys!" Oscar raised his hands to both of them. "This doesn't help solve our problem. We need to get power back on as soon as possible."

"Oscar, I'm telling you this is a very bad idea."

"Well then what would you suggest?"

"I don't know. We have plenty of flashlights, don't we?"

"You prefer to give everyone a flashlight and have them stumble around in the dark? Ron, we have a lot of frightened people here. Keeping the generator off will only make things worse." He smiled at the boy. "Look, I know you're scared. I am too. But we're responsible for these people. _All_ of them." He glanced at the trio. "As inheritors of the proud Smarty Mart tradition of exemplary customer service, making our patrons feel safe and secure is our first priority. Now how do you suppose we do that when we can't even get the lights back on?"

"Dude, I said I'd do it."

"I'm sorry, son." Oscar addressed Junior. "But we'll take care of this. It is our job as Smarty Mart employees..."

But Junior cut him off. "Look, pops. You're like what, a hundred?"

"Actually I'm..."

"Old." Junior pointed to Ron. "And he's too chicken shit to go out there. Mike's too big and Vinnie's afraid of heights."

"True that," Vinnie agreed. Big Mike remained quiet.

"I am not chicken shit. I am not hearing things." Ron stepped back so that he could address all of them. "I'm telling you I heard something on the other side. We have to stay indoors."

"And do what? Walk around in the dark while holding our junk?" Then Junior said. "Wait, that's not a bad idea."

Ron was about to argue the point some more but then Oscar said, "Son, it's a really long climb to the top. While I appreciate your offer, the last thing I want is to see you hurt."

"Dude, I'm like descended from monkeys." Junior held up his fingers. "See? Opposable thumbs."

"That's not really what they're for," Oscar began, but by then Junior was already approaching the door.

"You're not going anywhere!" Ron stepped in front of Junior, crossing his arms.

"Whoa. You wanna throw down, wimp man?"

"This wimp has gone up against scarier things than you, pothead."

"Never touched the stuff. But how about I let Big Mike touch you." Junior whistled over his shoulder. "Yo, Mike!"

Like an obedient hound, Big Mike took two steps which brought him right up to Junior and Ron. Then with one hand, Mike grabbed Ron by the scruff of his collar and lifted him into the air. Ron complained, kicking madly, but was otherwise helpless as Mike walked him back to where Vinnie was standing. Seeing the situation Ron was in, Rufus climbed onto Big Mike's outstretched arm and bit down hard. But Mike was so high that he didn't feel a thing. The brute just winced and flicked Rufus off his hand like he was a fly.

"Rufus!"

"Now see here!" Oscar rushed to Ron's aid, but another whistle from Junior and his legs were soon dangling in the air as well. "Put me down!"

Vinnie was laughing. "Man, you boys don't know who you're dealing with. They call us the Terrible Trio back in school."

"It's the Detention Trio," Ron corrected. "And the only thing terrible about you guys is your breath." Ron covered his nose as Mike lifted him to his face, breathing heavily.

"Whatever. Yo, Junior. You ready to roll?"

"Dude!" Junior offered his friend a thumbs-up and Vinnie took that as a sign to approach the door controls.

"Vinnie don't!" Ron waved his arms. "You guys have no idea what's been going on. The mist is dangerous. We heard people screaming. A woman walked outside and we never saw her again."

"Pussy." Junior motioned to Vinnie who pulled the lever.

"Stop!" But it was too late. Vinnie activated the release and the door squeaked open. Wisps of fog slithered in underneath the now vacant space between the inside and the outside.

Junior was kneeling down. "Hold it!"

Vinnie stopped the door. It was open about a third of the way down with enough space for Junior to crawl through on his hands and knees. Ron, Oscar, and everyone else held their breath. Even Big Mike, whose breathing was the heaviest of all, seemed to fall silent. For many tense seconds, there was no sound. The mist seeped in but was otherwise a harmless vapor. A heavy musk assailed their senses. It was earthy, yet contained a hint of copper and something else that they weren't able to identify.

"Whoa."

"You see something?" Vinnie asked. He was standing off to the side next to the lever, watching his friend.

"Yeah." Something in Junior's voice signified awe, like he was either too mesmerized or too afraid to speak out. "I see someone."

Ron bit his teeth. A ways off, having just recovered from his tumble, Rufus scuttled back to the scene and froze when he heard Junior's exhale.

"Who is it?" Vinnie asked.

"A dude." He stood up, glancing once at Vinnie before turning to face Ron, a smug look on his face. "His name's Jack Shit."

Vinnie began laughing uncontrollably while Big Mike just smiled. Oscar looked at Ron who was glaring daggers at Junior. If he had learned to harness his Mystical Monkey Powers he'd have given Mike, Vinnie, and especially Junior a taste in humility with a side order of whupass. "Not...funny."

But Junior was laughing. It would be the last time he ever did.

Ironically enough, it was Big Mike who saw it first. The large teen's eyes bulged like he had been hit in the back of the head. Ron and Oscar could feel him tense and looked up to see his horrified face. Rufus began screeching like a wild animal, motioning madly to the door. Ron followed the source of their panic...and then he saw..._it_.

For one of the few times in his life, Ron Stoppable was speechless. His jaw fell slack and he didn't even feel it when Mike dropped him to the floor. Ron began crab-walking away, putting as much distance between him and the thing as possible. Oscar was the first one to say anything coherent. "G-God!"

No longer smiling, for Junior had never seen Big Mike look so scared, the blonde turned around just in time to have his legs swept out from under him. His head hit the ground so hard that he almost lost consciousness. At the controls, Vinnie was spouting one profanity after another. "What the fuck is that?"

A tentacle, huge and gray, had snaked its way beneath the opening. Grabbing Junior by the ankle, it pulled him forward, dragging the dazed boy toward the mist.

"Junior!" Ron's exclamation seemed to snap him out of it. Junior woke up, his cap coming off in the process, and after seeing what was happening made a grab for the door. He latched his fingers onto the bottom of the loading door before the tentacle could pull him out fully. Only his upper torso remained on the inside.

"Help me! It's got my leg! Oh shit! It's got my fucking leg!"

Ron was on his feet and running after Junior in a heartbeat. He grabbed him under the shoulders and began pulling for all he was worth. "Hang on!" Junior squirmed in his arms, screaming. Ron continued to pull. The thing on the other side was strong but gradually Ron felt it begin to give way. "Oscar!" Ron called. "Vinnie! Big Mike! Do something!"

Ever dependable Oscar was by Ron's side. He coiled his arms around Ron's waist and began to tug. "No! Take his arm," Ron told him. While Ron held onto Junior's left hand, Oscar came around to grab his right. Together, the employees pulled with all their might. Their efforts were almost laughable.

Junior screamed as he felt himself being pulled in two directions. For all their attempts, neither Ron nor Oscar could win any ground against the tentacle. Feeling resistance, the slithery appendage began to tug harder, eliciting many more screams from Junior.

"Kick it, Junior! Fight!" Ron urged. But Junior was already kicking at the thing with his free foot, and that seemed to loosen its hold somewhat. Ron and Oscar were able to pull the screaming boy back in, but the tentacle still wouldn't let go. "Vinnie! Big Mike! Do something!" But Ron's pleas fell on deaf ears. The two "friends" of Thomas Bartholomew Junior could only look in sheer terror. Vinnie was already far away from the door. He bumped into a stack of crates and fell to the floor, not watching where he was going. Big Mike sounded like he had trouble breathing. The youth hadn't blinked for a full minute. "M-Monster..."

"Dammit! Come on, Oscar. Pull!" Ron dug his heels as best he could. He would not let this thing take Junior, no matter how much of an ass he was. Oscar was right. These people were their responsibility. No one else was going to die. But oh how Junior screamed.

"It's breaking my leg! Oh God! Get it off me!"

"We're trying!" Ron was gritting his teeth like some feral animal. If only Kim were here. "Oscar, see if you can find something to cut it with."

"The leg?" The elder man's voice asked in horror.

"The...tentacle." Ron was straining so much that his cheeks bulged, teeth grinding against each other.

"I can't leave you two."

"I got him. Go!" Hook his hands underneath Junior like he did before, Ron quickly shouldered the full burden of saving Junior's life as Oscar vacated his spot. Almost immediately the boy was suck back under the door, but between Ron's determined stance and Junior's frantic kicking, they managed to hold it off.

Then another one came in. This one was at least three times the width of the first one and it had brought friends. The smaller tentacles felt out the air about the door while the large one just slithered in. A sound like sniffing filled the air above Ron. So terrified was he that he refused to even breathe. His muscles tensed and that proved to be a blessing, for it gave him the added leverage and to keep Junior from slipping. The huge tentacle was obviously deaf and could not hear Junior screaming - else it would have just stomped on them both. Instead it continued to "sniff" the air about them, eventually moving toward the back.

"Vinnie! Mike! Look out!"

Vinnie scrambled behind one of the crates, his whimpers audible even with Junior's yells. Big Mike seemed to snap out of it at last. The large teenager ran away just as the tentacle came across the ground he was in a moment ago. It barely bumped Mike, who easily approached three-hundred pounds of thick muscle, but it was enough to send the boy crashing into the nearest crate, spilling its contents. The contents were bags of animal food for the store's exotic pets department. Ron's department. Mike scrambled over the bags just as the tentacle - feeling it had touched something - moved in.

_Sniffing_ at the bags, Mike and Vinnie looked on in horror as the appendage rose like a viper ready to strike. Then just as their bowels released themselves for the expectant attack, the tentacle split open. Like a large, horizontal maw, rows of razor-sharp teeth moving like the spikes on a chainsaw, the tentacle snapped down on the closest bag and ripped it open. The contents of the bag spilled over the frightened forms of Big Mike and Vinnie. It was actually chewing, _eating,_ making large crunching noises with those deadly incisors.

Mind wracked with pain, Junior did not see any of this. He was trying to free himself from the smaller tentacle's death grip. He could feel his bones breaking and knew that sooner or later the whole leg would come right off. Junior was even willing to let it happen if he could just be set free.

"Hang on, Junior. I've got you."

Rufus appeared by their side. The mole rat was motioning like crazy to the side. Another tentacle from the outside, feeling that the first one was having too much trouble with this morsel, decided to see what the problem was. Junior and Ron stiffened. The blonde boy in the grasp of the first tentacle was sniveling as it leaned closer.

"Oscar..." Ron tried to cry but his voice came out like a meek whisper.

Suddenly the tentacle split apart like its larger counterpart. Its jaws sank into Junior's chest before ripping away a part of him. Blood, skin, and tears soaked Ron's face as Junior writhed so frantically, he almost lost his grip. "Oscar!" Ron yelled, not caring if the tentacle _heard_ him. He was too desperate now. He could not hold on much longer and Junior was in trouble. Ron watched in disbelief as the maw chewed up the piece of Junior it had bitten. It came back for more, this time biting him on the left calf. Junior spasmed so violently that he almost threw Ron off.

"OSCAR!"

"I'm here!" Oscar returned from god knows where carrying what looked like an emergency axe. "Hang on, son!" Whether he was talking to Ron or Junior didn't matter. Oscar came in swinging. He managed to clip the second tentacle only briefly, but without doing any real damage. Irritated, the tentacle closed in on Oscar, but the man saw it coming in time. His next swing did more than clip it. Oscar let out a grunt as he felt the axe bite deep into the thick hide of the slithery appendage, sinking it nearly to the hilt. Black blood splattered on Oscar, Junior, and Ron. The substance matted Junior's clothing and it became impossible to distinguish between his blood and that of the creature.

Reeling from the hit, the tentacle reared back, removing itself from the axe. But Oscar wasn't done. He brought the weapon up, over, and back until the hilt of the axe almost reached his spine. When he was certain he'd built up enough momentum, Oscar swung down with all he was worth, cutting the upper half of the tentacle's head clean off. The fragment fell to the floor with a sickening _plop_ at Oscar's feet. To the man's continued horror, it continued to move even separated from its host. The tentacle retreated back into the mist, leaving the severed piece squirming in a pool of its own blood. The damage done, Oscar looked to help Ron and Junior...only to find another tentacle having closed in on the hapless boys during the recent exchange.

"The thing has teeth!"

Showing off what Ron meant, the tentacle-maw reared on Oscar. In a move almost too fast to follow, the maw snapped down onto Junior, sinking its teeth like a bulldog that did not let go. Blood flowed freely from Junior's mouth now. "H-Help...m-eee...!"

"Cut it off!" Ron said.

Without another glance, Oscar headed straight for the limb that was biting Junior. Before he could swing it, though, another tentacle, sensing the trouble its fellows were in, lunged under the door. It slammed into Oscar, sending him and that all-important axe spiraling twenty feet away into another pile of crates. It all came crashing down on poor Oscar, one right on his head. As Oscar crumbled, the larger tentacle, having devoured much of the animal food, began to feel around. Oscar was lucky to have been buried, else the tentacle might have eaten him. The pileup had saved his life.

Junior was not so lucky. Ron could feel the boy's strength leaving. He was losing too much blood. Much of it was seeping out of his chest, his calf, and his mouth. Every word he tried to emit was instead garbled. "I won't let you go, Junior." Ron tried to do something. The two tentacles were just too much for him alone. Still he tried. "I won't...let you die."

But Junior was beyond help. One of the tentacles who had followed the larger one in had finally zeroed in on the struggling piece of meat that was Thomas Bartholomew Junior and joined in. A third maw clamped down on Junior's shoulder. That final spray of blood smacked Ron in the face. More an involuntary action that any choice to give up (much of it was in his mouth) Ron gagged and let go. Rufus cried out as Junior was pulled towards the door. The largest tentacle and its smaller cousins began to recede as the catch had been made. It shut its maw and crept outside the loading door.

Ron coughed out Junior's blood. He watched in defeat as the boy was dragged across the floor. "Junior!" The hero side of Ron would not allow him to give up, to let someone die when he could have helped. But before Ron could get back up, Rufus was already his chest and holding him back.

"No!" The mole rat shook his head. His large, black eyes were full of sadness when he said, "Too late."

Junior managed to turn himself around, grabbed futilely at the concrete and losing his nails in the process. He offered Ron one last glance as if asking him not to give up, to keep trying to save him. His mouth filled with blood, Junior reached out to Ron. More tentacles wrapped themselves around Junior's body before carting him off. The boy offered one final scream as the things swallowed him up into the mist.

* * *

Being the only one with some sense of mind after the incident, Rufus rushed toward the lever and with some effort managed to push it back to the upright position, closing the door shut. The door screeched slightly as it closed, the sound resembling a scream like it had been mortified of what had transpired. It slammed shut, creating an audible sound that carried throughout the room.

Alone in the darkness, his face and chest still covered in Junior's blood, Ron Stoppable shook violently. His heart raced a mile a minute, too fast and too strong for him to hear anything else. Even Rufus' cries for his attention (the mole rat had run back up to him and was speaking to him excitedly) fell on ears too drowned in the sound of his own heartbeat. The warmth of Junior's blood ironically sent shivers up and down his body. To think that a young man had been killed before his very eyes. Never in all his tenure as Kim Possible sidekick and eventual boyfriend had he seen anything approaching the horror he'd just witnessed.

A loud _whir_ filled the air and for a moment it sounded like something worse was about to come through the door. But then the lights came back on, nearly blinding Ron, Rufus, and all others left standing by the loading door. Ron blinked several times before his eyes fixed on Rufus, the mole rat shaking the stars from his light-sensitive eyes. "Rufus?" Ron was out of breath from attempting to save Junior's life. It felt like he'd been pulling against a monster truck, heaving and puffing for all he was worth. It hadn't been enough. He'd lost that fight and he'd lost Junior.

He was gone.

"What...the...fuck!" Vinnie's voice rang loud and clear. The youth was shaking in his sneakers, knees bobbing up and down as his hands pulled at his hair. "What the hell was that thing, man? It took Junior."

"M-Monster..." Big Mike, having finally regained his senses, fell to his knees. "It was a monster."

Little by little, Oscar dug himself out of the pile. He crawled out on all fours and finally sat down just a few feet short of the axe he used to cut the tentacle. Speaking of which, the appendage remained where it was, lying in a pool of black blood, the only casualty from the other side. One life for a finger? It hardly seemed worth it.

"Oh man! Oh man!" Vinnie was ecstatic. He began hopping around now, his voice frantic. "It took Junior, man. I have no idea what that thing was but it took Junior. It ate him, man. It freakin' ate him!"

"What was that?" Ron heard Oscar say. But he didn't respond for at that moment Vinnie had decided to come close and inspect the piece of the tentacle that had been left behind. He kept his distance, fearing it might jump up at eat him, but his curiosity would not let him turn away. "The fuck, man?" He spit at it. "You took my boy."

"Your boy?" Ron got up so fast that Rufus stumbled back. He watched Ron lunge at Vinnie, grabbing him by the shirt and pulling him in close. Ron's freckled face was red with rage, his brown eyes burned like lighting coals, and his next words were filled with hate. "You just let your boy die, you son of a bitch!" With renewed strength, Ron shoved Vinnie to the floor. Before he knew what he was thinking, Ron grabbed him again, literally picked him up so fast that Vinnie didn't have time to bump up and down, and threw him across the floor. Vinnie collided face-first with the gate that parted off the generator area from the rest of the stock room. He felt Ron twist him back to face him.

Ron shoved Vinnie against the cage. He tightened one of his hands around Vinnie's neck as he spoke. "You just stood there and did nothing while he was taken away. What the hell were you thinking? Where were you? He needed you and you did nothing!" Ron punched Vinnie in the gut, causing him to reel over. Hand still around his neck, Ron pulled Vinnie back up, fingers tightening. "I tried to save him. You did nothing. Your boy? He died because of you. You let him die! YOU LET HIM DIE!"

"Ron!" Oscar grabbed him by the shoulder. Ron displayed impeccable strength as he shoved the larger man right off. "Stop it! You're hurting him."

"Hurting him? Junior's dead because of him. How about that, Vinnie? Your friend's dead. What the hell were you thinking opening that door, huh? You god-damned stoner!" Ron punched him again, twice, three times, all the while holding Vinnie by the neck. Oscar was on him again with both hands this time.

"That's enough! You let him go this instant! Do you hear me, Ronald?"

Ron didn't.

"Ron!"

Another pair of hands grasped Ron by the other shoulder. These fingers were much smaller. "Ron!" It was Rufus. He shook Ron violently. "Don't hurt!"

Vinnie was coughing, both from the punches and from the fact that Ron was choking him. He saw a glimmer of blue light coming from Ron's eyes that seemed like it was about to engulf him, burning Vinnie in the process.

"You let him die," Ron reiterated. Feeling Rufus and Oscar pulling at him, Ron finally allowed Vinnie to slump to the ground. He stumbled back against Oscar who put his arm around Ron's shoulder.

"It's alright, son. It's alright."

"No, Oscar. It's not." Ron gave Vinnie one more hateful glare before walking away. Glowering at Mike, whose strength could have well turned the tide and saved Junior's life, Ron turned away in disgust before making his way toward the axe. He picked it up, ignoring Rufus' concerned stare, and walked it over to the tentacle. Looking down at the severed appendage, Ron felt his anger boiling over. He saw Junior writhing in agony, whose eyes pleaded with Ron to save him. He felt the boy's weakening body being pulled away from him, taken to be devoured. He'd failed Junior. Ron had failed to save somebody for the first time in his life. This wouldn't have happened if Kim were here. She would have saved Junior. She could save anybody. She could do anything.

_All I did was watch him die._

"It's all because of you!" Ron brought the axe down hard. It struck the tentacle and went right through to the floor. "Damn you!" Ron struck again. "Damn you!" And again. "Why?"

Oscar was by his side again. He grabbed Ron and turned him violently, the axe dropping to the floor. The next sound was that of a hand slapping Ron in the face. Rufus was thrown right off but landed safely on the floor. Shocked, Ron could only glance at Oscar who gave him a stern face. "Now you cut that out! Get a hold of yourself, man! This is not time to start going off the deep end."

Ron stumbled back a step but caught himself before falling. He witnessed his handiwork and blanched. The tentacle had been cut into several pieces though bits of its still wriggled and writhed. Looking down at himself, Ron noticed the blood again...Junior's blood. Unable to hold it in, he turned around, fell to his knees, and threw up, nearly splattering Rufus as he went. Rufus jumped out of the way and watched as Ron regurgitated his shame.

Once the fit was done, Ron looked up. Oscar and Rufus were standing right in front of him. The man's eyes had softened as he spoke to Ron. "It's not your fault, son. You did what you could with what you had on hand."

"Oscar...what was that thing?"

Oscar helped Ron back to his feet. "I don't know, Ron. I don't know."

"It took Junior. It took him and...and it ate him."

"We don't know that."

"What else could it have done? You saw those teeth. It was a carnivore. It was hungry and it wanted some food." Ron looked toward the door. "It was trying to get inside because it knew there was food here. It knew _we_ were here. And it got in." Ron glanced harshly toward Vinnie. "They let it in."

"Ron..."

Ron turned back on Oscar too quickly. "What the hell was that thing, Oscar? My God! What were those things even attached to?"

Oscar couldn't answer.

"What did we see?"

"I don't know, Ron." Looking at the ruined tentacle one more time, Oscar said, "I don't know anything anymore."


	5. Hell's Come to Middleton

**Darev: **It's been a difficult semester. My most trying to date. But I won't bore you with my academic scars. What I will say is that this chapter was not an easy one. I felt it wise to slow things down somewhat, after the action of the previous installment. It got so boring at times that I had to rewrite it, four times!

What I am enjoying is writing Justine as the antagonist. She's one of my favorite (one-shot) characters from the TV show. There's some more time with her and Bonnie at the end of the fic and a cliffhanger that (I hope) will leave many of you saying "WTF?"

Chapter 4 was a big success so let's say thanks to all those who reviewed: DayDreamer9, CajunBear73, Can't Catch This, Shadowgirl416, RT (aka Robert Teague, thanks man), Uzziel, Reader101w, DeathCobraEater, and (whew! I'm just going to call you awesome from now on.

* * *

Dazed, disoriented, and terrified, the survivors of the tentacle attack returned from the back room. Having wiped the blood off his face, and spitting what was left out of his mouth, Ron was visibly shaking. His hands grasped one another as if he were still trying to remove Junior from the clutches of the alien appendage. The boy's blood, still warm on his clothes and skin, was a potent reminder of his failure to save him. Ron had never lost a life before. Granted Junior's own foolishness _- why did he just listen? - _had been his undoing, but when push came to shove, when it came time for the hero to step up, Ron Stoppable, inheritor of Tai Shing Pek Kuar, master of the Lotus Blade and partner to Kim Possible, could do nothing.

Even having Rufus on his shoulder, so often the strength Ron needed to persevere in times of difficulty, did little to ease the troubled young man. He felt another presence on his opposing shoulder. Oscar was the most down-to-earth individual Ron had known. To see him shaken up by their experience was further proof that Ron had not dreamed it all. It wasn't some nightmare, and no matter how much he wished it was, one look at his hands and vest, at seeing Junior's blood, and it was all he could to do put one foot in front of the other.

Behind them walked Big Mike and Vinnie, Junior' supposed buddies. They were _supposed_ to help him when Junior was in trouble, when the tentacles snatched him up and nibbled at him piece by piece. They only stood back and watched as their friend was pleading for help, screaming for someone to save his life. Apparently all Mike and Vinnie were good for was getting high for they did nothing but watch their friend being dragged away, bleeding and crying, into the mist, never to be seen again.

One didn't need a morbid imagination to wonder about his fate.

As Ron opened the door marked _Employees Only_, he slumped against the wall like his legs had lost all strength in them. Sliding halfway down, Ron instinctively propped himself up before he could fall any further. Rufus called his name, fearing for his best friend's state of mind. Ron didn't hear him. He didn't hear anything save the sound of Junior's screams of agony. He tried to blink, but all he saw was Junior being dragged away, his eyes begging Ron not to let him go. Ron did let go. He gave up. He couldn't save him.

_Why didn't you?_

"Ronald!" Oscar was by his side then, helping him up. Vinnie and Big Mike exited last, seemingly as stunned as he was. Vinnie kept muttering curses and wiping tears from his eyes as he walked. Big Mike seemed brain dead. Even the scowl that had been permanently fixed on his square face was gone. He just saw a friend get ripped to pieces by something that was way bigger and scarier than him. For any giant, that is a humbling experience.

Still holding him, Oscar tried to shake Ron out of it. "Pull yourself together, son. We need you right now."

"Junior needed me and I let him down."

"Don't think like that. You did everything we could. We call did."

"We?"

Realizing what he said, Oscar turned a critical eye over at Vinnie and Mike. The latter was hunched over like he needed to barf while the former was tapping his hands together nervously, pacing back and forth. "You and I did, anyway." Oscar turned back to him. "There was nothing more we could have done. Those things, whatever they were, were too many and too strong for us. We tried to save that boy. It just wasn't meant to be."

"I knew him, Oscar." Ron turned away. "We didn't hang out or anything. Hell, we never bothered talking to one another save the time he and Kim were in detention together. But I used to see him around. He had a life, friends," Ron felt bile forming at the back of his throat after uttering that. What sort of friends let their friend die and do nothing about it? He fought the urge to glare at Vinnie and Mike. Ron had attacked Mike earlier, had almost beaten the boy to a pulp had not Oscar stopped him. There was enough blood on his hands.

"A family," Ron went on, "people that will never see him again because of me."

"Because of us, you mean," Oscar pressed.

"Because of me." Ron looked at him and his eyes were cold. "I'm a hero, Oscar. I save people. It's what Kim and I do. If she were there, there's no way those things could have taken Junior."

"I'm not too sure about that."

Ron brushed his arms away, angrily. "Don't you get it?" Ron slammed a fist into the wall. To Oscar's surprise, as well as the other boys, cracks formed where flesh met concrete. A twinge of blue fire seeped into Ron's eyes. Seeing this damage only served to raise Ron's ire. _Where the hell were you when I needed you?_ He asked his inner champion. "I-Let-Him-Die!"

"Oh, Ronald."

"Ron," Rufus said. When the boy finally looked as his tiny mammalian friend, he found the mole rat's large black eyes reflected a face that was not his own. The look of utter defeat, of shame and agony, was not Ron was accustomed to. Sure he was used to losing, of being humiliated and cast aside, but this was different. Ron had never let his trials in life take him down. He remained positive despite all the obstacles and always walked with his head held high and with a smile on his freckled face. Not this time. This was a different Ron.

The blue light died out and Ron just stood there. He removed his fist from the wall and collapsed down on it, still shaking. "I'm so sorry." Whether he was apologizing to Rufus, to Oscar, or to Junior he could not tell. He was just sorry.

"Come, Ron." Oscar helped him back up again. "We have to tell the others what we saw."

Ron was shaking his head. "We can't."

"Yes we can. And we must. Kim, Steve, they all have to know that there's something dangerous out there."

Too late for that, Ron mused. Way too late for Junior.

"They won't believe us. Well, Kim might. We've seen a lot of things on our missions. But Oscar, I don't know how to explain..." his voice trailed off and at once Oscar knew what was wrong. How did Ron explain to his girlfriend that he failed to save Junior? Ron would continue to beat himself up for it, Oscar knew. What's more, if word got out that someone had been killed inside Smart Mart, there's no telling what kind of panic that would set off. People were scared enough to begin with, and if Ron Stoppable, friend and partner to teen hero Kim Possible, could not save a single life then how could he and Kim be expected to save the hundred or so people still trapped in the store?

"We'll tell Kim and Steven then. No one else."

"Mr. Barkin," Ron said.

"And Kim. She needs to know about this, Ron."

"No. Please..."

"Ron...she needs to know."

Ron sighed his shoulders in defeat. He wanted to keep his shame hidden from Kim if but for a little while longer. She would not judge him, Ron knew, but it still pained him to no end. If Kim had gone back instead of Ron then Junior would still be alive. A small part of him wished it was him dragged to his death. At least then he wouldn't have to live with his failure.

Oscar turned to the other two. "You're both coming with us. If you hadn't been back there to begin with then your friend may still be alive."

Vinnie shook his head. "We didn't know, man. We didn't kn..."

"That's no excuse!" Oscar snapped at them, his voice stern and unwavering. "You shouldn't have been here to begin with. That storage room is off limits to customers."

"But we ain't customers."

"No." Now he turned on them in full. "You're a bunch of potheads who, if you were sober enough, might have been able to help Ron and I save your friend's life. Had you listened to Ron in the first place, he might not have died to begin with."

Ron didn't bother to mention that, despite his warnings, Oscar was still opting to go outside and clear the vent. He remained silent as his co-worker berated the boys and warned them that from this moment on he would keep an eye on them from now on. Still, Oscar went on as his voice softened, the loss of their friend had been terrible enough and he offered them his sincerest condolences. "I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sure he was a good man at heart."

"Junior was my boy, man. He didn't deserve to go out like that."

"Monsters," Mike bellowed.

"What the hell was that thing, man?" It took Ron a moment to realize that Vinnie had directed that question at him - had even stepped up to him at that point. "What killed my friend?"

"I don't know." Looking at Big Mike, Ron turned to Vinnie and said, "Monsters." Too disgusted with himself and with Vinnie, Ron turned away. The tentacles may be gone, but they continued to follow Ron, like tendrils of self-loathing.

They found Kim and Mr. Barkin in the presence of a large group of people. The patrons had been freaked out when the lights went off but after the power came back on and the cheering stopped there remained the probability of another blackout. The notion did not sit well with the patrons and they'd crowded around Kim and Barkin, their rocks in this time of crisis, for a solution.

The first person to notice the group was Felix who'd been sitting away from the crowd. He'd been wondering what was taking Ron so long to return from the back and rode his chair up to him. His eyes widened even further upon seeing the state he was in. "Ron! What the hell?"

"It's not my blood," he assured his chair-bound friend.

Looking at the men, Felix's mouth sputtered with a hundred questions struggling to be the first in line to be uttered. Oscar held up a hand to silence the boy. "Excuse me, son. But we really need to talk to Kim and Steven." Oscar walked around him.

"Ron?" Felix watched as Ron walked by. He couldn't even look at Felix when he did so. Something terrible had happened. Felix grabbed him by the arm. "Dude, talk to me. What happened?" He glanced to the side. "What are Vinnie and Big Mike doing here?"

"It ate him, man. It fucking ate him!" Vinnie blurted out all of a sudden.

Ron turned on him just as Felix did. "Shut up!"

But Vinnie fell to his knees, grabbing at his hair. "It ate my boy, man. The damn thing ate Junior."

"Junior? What's he talking about?"

Ron shook his head. "Felix...I can't really talk about this now."

"Talk about what?" Hearing her voice, Ron closed his eyes. He turned around just as Kim appeared, her eyes bulging at the sight of her boyfriend. "Ron?" She rushed to him. "Oh my god! What happened?"

"That's what I want to know," Felix stated.

"Vinnie? Big Mike?" Kim said over Ron's shoulder. Mike touched Vinnie's shoulder in sympathy, showing the first human expression since the attack. Vinnie was near sobs. Several patrons saw the display and wondered what was happening. They moved closer to hear what was going on. Now that they had an audience, Ron wished more than ever that it had been he and not Junior. It's bad enough to admit his defeat to Kim in private, now half the store would hear it.

"Why are you covered in blood? Did you fall?" Kim looked him over like a distressed mother. Seeing he was alright, physically at least, she asked, "What happened back there?"

Oscar returned with Mr. Barkin at his side. He gave Ron a plaintive look. "Might as well tell them."

"Tell us what?" Kim was getting agitated now. "Ron, what is it?"

He sighed. "Kim...I..."

"Something ate Junior."

Gasps followed Vinnie's proclamation. Cries of "What did he say?" and "Who's Junior?" filled the air.

"What's he talking about?" Kim asked Ron.

Sighing Ron told his story. "Mr. Barkin sent me to check on the generator. I found Big Mike, Vinnie, and Junior while I was trying to turn the power back on. Oscar joined us a little while later. The only way to turn the lights back on was to clear the vent outside loading room door."

"You went outside?" Kim asked, and that question alone drew gasps and disbelieving cries from everyone around them. Monique, Bonnie, Tara, Ned, and Josh were among those gathering around when they saw the crowd. One by one, they each worked their way towards the front.

"Junior did. Or tried to." Ron held his breath before dropping the bomb. "Something grabbed him from inside the mist. It was a bunch of tentacles. They took him, Kim. He's dead."

"Did he say tentacles?" Someone in the crowd asked aloud.

"I think he did."

"Is he serious?"

A chuckle was followed by, "Boy watches too much hentai."

While Kim didn't know what hentai was, she did agree that it all sounded strange. "Tentacles, Ron?"

"We all saw it." Ron motioned to Oscar, Mike, and Vinnie. "We were there. Rufus, too."

Rufus bobbed his head quickly.

Mr. Barkin puffed out his chest. "Stoppable, you expect us to believe that there are tentacles in the mist?"

"Shego said that was something in the mist, right? You saw her when she and Drakken came in." Ron stepped back. "Well we saw something. We saw a whole lot of _somethings_. They came in and grabbed Junior."

"The tentacles?"Barkin asked. His tone showed that he did not believe him.

"Yes! Tell him, Oscar."

"He's right. We all saw it."

"Mike! Vinnie!" Ron urged the boys to add their voices to his own.

"Kim, they took Junior. They ripped him up and then they ate him, man."

"Monsters," Mike said.

"Tentacles?" With an upraised eyebrow, Kim approached the two boys. She sniffed the air about them and waved her hand before her. "Smells to me like you boys were having a party back there."

"Well yeah, but," Vinnie stopped when heard and saw the others laughing at him. At _him_. "Yo, I'm not making this shit up, alright? Junior's dead. They took him." More laughter. "This ain't funny! My hommie's dead and you assholes are laughing? That ain't right!"

"It' ain't," Ron agreed. He regarded the disbelieving crowd. "Knock it off!" The strength in his tone, so unlike Ron Stoppable, shut most of them up immediately. Even Bonnie and Monique, who never did take Ron seriously though Monique was a friend, were taken aback by his harsh words. Ron grabbed his vest. "You see this?" He pulled at the blood-stained fabric. "You see this blood? This belonged to Junior. This is all that's left of him. He's _dead_. I tried to save him and he's dead."

"Ron?" Kim turned to him. She saw Rufus looking back at her, his tiny face one of pain.

"Something came out of the mist, through the loading door, and it killed Junior. All we could do was watch as the tentacles took him away, back to the mist. I don't need to remind you about the screams we heard in the parking lot. Maybe whatever killed Junior killed those people as well. There might be more of them. There might be a thousand. I don't know. What I do know is that the outside is dangerous and if some people," he turned on Junior's friends, eyes flashing, "had listened to me when I told them I heard something, we'd all still be alive!"

Kim was in front of him then. "Calm down, Ron. I believe you."

Mr. Barkin was not convinced. "Possible? You believe this nonsense."

"Ron wouldn't lie about these things. If he says he saw a bunch of tentacles then I believe him."

The chortle started up again...albeit nervously. That's the thing with frightened people. When things were bad, they tried to fight their fear with humor, using laughter as a way to combat their growing sense of dread. Ron may have sounded like a nutcase, but when Kim Possible backed him up, it was impossible not to feel it may be true.

Mr. Barkin studied Ron intently. The blood seemed obvious and he'd never seen Ron so shaken up before. Even his dreaded pop quizzes failed to incite the level of intensity and desperation he saw on Ron's face. The boy may be a pro at excuses, but he was not a pathological liar. Besides, that blood did look real.

"Okay, Stoppable," Barkin's voice silenced everyone. "Let's see it."

"What?"

"Proof, you dolt. Show me proof of what you saw was true and I'll believe you."

Ron grabbed his clothes again. "Do you not see the blood?"

"Stoppable, half the time you're covered in blood when you're feeding the lions." The look on Kim's face - one of absolute shock - caused him to clarify. "He provides the raw meat, Possible, nothing more." Back to Ron he said, "Let's go back there."

"Mr. Barkin, I seriously think that's a bad,"

"_Now,_ Stoppable."

"It's okay, Ron," Kim said. "I'll go with you."

"I'll go too," Oscar said.

"I'll go." Felix rolled his chair forward.

Monique moved her way out of the crowd. "Count me in."

With no more volunteers forthcoming (Vinnie and Mike had no intention of going back there), the group followed Ron to the loading door. The walk was a solemn one, with Ron dreading every footstep and dragging his feet in some cases, slowing them down even further. Kim realized that her boyfriend had been traumatized by his experience. No amount of hand-holding or soothing words could break the tension in his step, the shaking in his voice or fingers. _What happened to you, Ron?_

When they made it to the door she finally got her answer. Foodstuffs were scattered all over the place, the signs of a struggle obvious. What was even less obvious, and therefore even more surprising, was the severed piece of a tentacle lying on the floor. All others, save for Ron, approached the thing tentatively. Kim's expression reflected everyone's feelings at that moment. Even Oscar who had been there for the whole thing, had trouble believing what he'd saw. The ugly thing lay prone in a pool of its own black blood, blood which, they noticed, had spots of red around it. Clearly a human being had been a victim here.

"What is that?" Monique asked.

"That's what killed Junior," Oscar said. Looking to the side, Oscar saw a green baseball cap on the floor near the loading door. He picked up and looked at with a sigh. "Rest in peace, son." It seemed like the right thing to say, though how peaceful a death could be after witnessing those final moments was beyond him. Cradling the cap, Oscar rejoined the group.

"Stay back, Possible," Barkin warned as he saw Kim approaching the tentacle.

Kim leaned in carefully. "It looks dead."

"Looks can be deceiving," Felix shot back.

"No deceiving here. Whatever this thing was a part of, it was big." Kim looked around. She spotted the axe that Oscar had valiantly used to battle the tentacles in a vain attempt at saving Junior's life. She walked over and returned with it, holding it up like a weapon. Barkin reached for it but Kim pulled it out of his reach. "I've got it, Mr. B." She was used to handling dangerous items. Barkin was just being protective of his students.

Kim stretched the axe out until she touched the tentacle. Nothing happened at first but after a second poke the thing came alive, forcing everyone to leap back. Even Felix, who was sitting down, visibly jumped and shook his chair. "It's still alive."

"Kill it!" Monique told Kim.

But Kim could see that it was already in its death throes. The spasms continued for another few seconds before the tentacles stopped altogether. When it finally stopped moving, the severed tentacle began to decay at an alarming rate. The humans watched with disgust and horror as it melted, becoming nothing but an ugly pool of steaming, putrid guck.

"Oh, that's nasty!" Monique covered her mouth, tasting bile in the back of her throat.

"I'll second that." Felix turned to Kim who was still too shocked to speak. "Kim?"

"There goes our evidence." Oscar's comment made the group look up. "If we brought this back up front then the people would have to believe us then."

"I think it would only induce panic," Barkin said. "Better that they take our word for it."

"Who'd believe us?" Kim asked. "I'm here and I still don't believe it."

"Believe it, Kim." All eyes turned to Ronald who had a dark look on his face. Rufus huddled beside his head. "Hell's come to Middleton."

* * *

If Ron Stoppable's bizarre recount of previous events weren't enough, having Kim Possible and Steven Barkin return with words of warning seemed to set everyone straight. While not everyone believed Ron's claim that monster tentacles were out to get them, they understood beyond a shadow of a doubt about how precarious their situation had become.

With Steve and Kim leading the way, the people of Smarty Mart began to take precautions. Like Steve had suggested earlier that day, they were to board up the windows at the front using bags of cement and fertilizer. The patrons were divided into squads, each responsible for a certain task. Each squad had a commander of sorts, namely one who was responsible and knew how to keep a cool head. These commanders had radios with which they used to keep in contact with one another that they may coordinate their efforts.

The squad responsible for barricading the windows was led by Steve Barkin. In no time at all they had built a wall that went as high as six feet tall. But the height did not run the length of the wall, for they still needed to see what was going on outside. Barkin had his team place segments that were half as high at several intervals so that anyone, a lookout perhaps, could keep tabs on the mist. At certain points there were peepholes, which were actually bags that were strategically placed so that there was room for someone to poke their head in and have a look without the wall coming down on them. Steve's military experience proved essential in this category. Building foxholes and fortifications meant he knew how to make effective walls with a bit of improvisation thrown in.

Oscar was put in charge of inventory. The man knew Smarty Mart better than anyone, even the general manager who had decided to opt out and make a break for it with all the other unlucky souls who ran into the parking lot when the mist came. He'd catalogued the store's goods so many times that he knew them all by heart. Still, it helped to have a list of things they had or were short on. The latter happening was unlikely and Oscar had taken into consideration the amount of people they would have to feed, shelter, and keep warm during the emergency. Kim had Ned assist him in this category. Ned had worked in the Bueno Nacho stockroom when he first started so his experience proved beneficial with helping Oscar. The two worked well together, though Ned was still a bit disconcerted that he was once again reduced to the rank of _assistant_.

With his knowledge of mechanics, Felix seemed a no brainer for finding a means of communicating with the outside world. He and Ron went around, collecting all the electronics equipment they could find. While not at the same level as his mother or Kim's dad, Felix was still a genius when it came to mechanics. His task was to find a means of getting a signal, any signal, he could by building a device that could penetrate the mist. Of course he was working half-blind as he didn't even understand the components that made up the mist, components which would possibly hinder any and all signals from coming in or out. Felix did his best, however, and with Ron assisting him, they were already working on the schematics.

This partnership proved to be beneficial for them both. Ron needed something to take his mind off of losing Junior and Felix needed an assistant. The two were good friends so they complimented one another in more ways than one. While Felix could get around easily enough with his mobile wheelchair, Ron knew the store and could find things a lot faster. He could also climb ladders and move around obstacles and people easier than Felix. They worked in silence for the most part, though they'd share a friendly barb now and then. Aside from the fact that they were trapped in a mall with a mist potentially filled with man-eating tentacles, this was just like working on a school project.

And where was Rufus? The naked mole rat put on a show for the little tikes, keeping their minds off the horrors of the outside. He was a one-rat show and how the children laughed and hooted at his antics.

Monique was with Kim doing crowd control. They went around assuring everyone that everything would be alright and to remain calm. What Kim's overly optimistic demeanor and upbeat attitude failed to do, Monique's astounding pragmatism could accomplish. Some people could not be consoled with friendly words, so it took the ebony girl with the sharp tongue to bring those doomsayers in line. Between them, the two teens managed to keep order and everyone, even the adults with no leadership ambitions, took heed of their commands.

"You okay, Kim?"

"Hanging in there, Mon. You?"

"DTO."

Kim looked at her.

"Ditto."

"You created an acronym for a single word?"

Monique gave her a resigned shrug.

Kim stopped her, pulled her to the side behind a shelf for canned soups and looked her straight in the eye and said, "I need to know if you're okay."

"Kim, I," Monique stopped. Seeing her friend's concerned face made her rethink her words. "Am I that obvious?"

"You're trying too hard. DTO? That's hardly original." Kim released her. "You want to talk about it?"

"Sure, Ma. Why not?"

"I'm serous, Mon. You know I've got your back. When the time comes, I just want to make sure you have your head in the game."

"Head in the game?"

"That you're ready."

"You know something I don't?"

Kim glanced around once. "I think what Ron showed us back at the loading door was just the tip of the iceberg. Based on his story, those tentacles were large and cumbersome. Whatever got Shego would need to be very fast and agile, otherwise she wouldn't have so much as a scratch on her."

"She's got more than that."

"And how," Kim agreed. "What I'm saying is those tentacles may be the least of our worries." Kim leaned back, holding her arms. "Ron's really shaken up. I've never seen him this way. I think he blames himself for not being able to save Junior. We've gone up against a lot of things in the past, but I've never seen him so ready to throw in the towel. It's like he's given up, Monique. Ron may be a procrastinator and a whiner, but he's not a quitter."

Monique raised an eyebrow.

"When it comes to being a hero, I mean. He's never given up on me or the mission."

"So this is a mission now?" Monique's tone turned incredulous.

Kim shook her head. "It's just that I need you now. Ron's wallowing in a pit of his own guilt. I can't even talk to Mr. B on the best of days and I won't even entertain the idea of Bonnie as my last resort. You're my best friend and probably the only person I can confide in with confidence right now. You can't be tuning out and acting like there's nothing wrong. If something's bothering you then I need to know."

"Derrick."

Kim winced. "Your brother?"

Monique looked away. "He wasn't home when the storm hit. He slept over at a friend's house the other night. Last time I spoke to him was almost two days ago." Monique sighed. "We don't talk much anymore, me and him. We've gotten so busy with our own lives that we hardly say two words to each other. But we're still tight, you know? We're always kidding around, making jokes at the other's expense and laughing. It's just how we are." She stopped right there.

"Monique, when Ron and I found you,"

"I wasn't going to look for him," she cut her off. "I know where his friend lives so I knew where he was. I didn't think much of it. Derrick will be back when he's back, I told myself. That's how it is now. I don't worry about Derrick anymore because we have our own lives. I used to worry about my brother all the time but not anymore. Back in the day we used to be connected at the hip. Now we act like casual friends, the type of people you wave to when you're walking down the hall or worked on a project with. You smile, but you don't really know that person, which is why when things like this happen you're not even concerned because hey, we hardly speak."

"But you are worried."

"Yeah..._now_." Monique walked down the aisle, Kim right next to her. "When I could have been worrying an hour ago. When I could have been worrying when I could have done something about it. It's not just Derrick, Kim. When Ms. Vespers bailed on us, it got me thinking of my mom. Is that how she is now, worrying about me and Derrick? Did she go out into the mist to find us? If she did, is dad with her? Are they okay? Are they alive?" Frustration crept into her voice then. "My folks would be that crazy. They'd get in their car, pick up Derrick first, and then come for me." She stopped. "Except they don't know I'm here. No one knows I'm here because my damn phone doesn't work. They don't know I'm here because I didn't tell them. We don't talk anymore. We're just a bunch of strangers living in the same house."

"Monique!" Kim's fingers on her arms eased the girl up. She didn't realize it then, but her voice had been rising with each proclamation and it took Kim to calm her down. "You were starting to shout."

"Yeah. I'm sorry." Monique relaxed as Kim let her go. "I just wish I could call them, you know? I want to let them know I'm okay. I want to know that they're okay."

"I think,"

"Don't." Monique turned on Kim, as serious as she'd ever seen her. "Don't tell me they're fine because you don't know that. No one knows anything."

"Felix is going to change that. He and Ron are building a device that will help us communicate with the outside."

Monique crossed her arms. "And if that doesn't work?"

"Then we'll think of something else."

"And what if that fails?"

"Then I'll go out into the mist and bring back help on foot. God, Monique! I'm not trying to be the optimist for my health. We have to hope things will be alright, otherwise we may as well give up and prepare to die."

"Like Ron?"

The look of pain on Kim's face made Monique realize her error. "Shit! Kim, I'm sorry." She went to envelop her friend in an apologetic hug. "I'm so sorry."

Kim accepted the apology when she returned it. "It's okay."

"It's not." Monique pulled away. "I'm being a selfish bitch right now. I'm not the only one with family out there. After hearing what Justine said about your father..."

"Justine!"

"Huh?"

Kim's eyes narrowed. "I was looking for her earlier. No one accuses my father like that and gets away with it."

"True that. Let's go find her, girl." Monique seemed to be back to her old self again. Kim was glad for it. Despite her "I Can Do Anything" attitude, Kim drew strength from those around her, none more so than her friends and family. Without them, what did she have?

"Monique,"

"Don't worry, Kim. I've got your back." With that understanding, the two friends set off to find a certain blonde-haired instigator.

* * *

Little did they know that a certain brunette had already found her. Bonnie spotted Justine making her way to the storage room at the back of the store. She could see that Justine was doing everything possible not to be noticed, always looking around, behind her, trying to keep to the corners and less-populated parts of the store. Once she was confident that no one had seen her, Justine pushed through the door marked EMPLOYEES ONLY and disappeared.

While Bonnie was no ninja, she could avoid being seen when she wanted. Her light steps came from years of ballerina practice and being a cheerleader gave her quick reflexes that enabled her to duck out of sight when the moment called. She was able to track Justine easily, moving from one corner to the next, always a few steps behind the blonde and never making a sound above a slight scratch of her shoe on the smooth floor.

"What's she up to?" Bonnie asked herself when she saw Justine enter the room. She'd been a part of Oscar's squad, assigned the important, albeit boring, task of cataloging their list of supplies. It was far better than hoisting heavy bags of manure to build the barricade and at least this way Bonnie could be by herself. She took with her a pen and pad of paper that Oscar had gentlemanly offered her so that she could jot down inventory and left her to her own devices. Bonnie had only half-tried to do what she'd been trusted to do, writing down a few things here and there, before giving up entirely.

It wasn't that the task was too daunting, it's just that she had more important things to worry about like, oh, survival. For years Bonnie had no one to rely on but herself. Being the youngest daughter in a family that was anything but close-knit had taught her to be self-reliant at an early age. Her father was almost never around and her mother was so caught up in her own world that Bonnie wondered if she knew she even had a little girl who only wanted some affection. Connie and Lonnie, her big sisters, had written the book on _Bitch_. She both hated them and envied them. They were so confident in themselves, in their intelligence and beauty, that it was no wonder Bonnie had so many insecurities.

She projected those insecurities on others, pointing out their flaws, their mistakes, and their inability to fit in, all because Bonnie could never fit in at home. She surrounded herself with girls who followed her around like mindless drones and dated boys based on their standing in the Food Chain. People called her shallow behind her back, namely those she'd convinced herself were her followers. True Bonnie never saw any of the girls on the cheer squad as friends. Aside from Tara, who was so sincere that Bonnie found her a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stuffy crowd of self-centeredness, Bonnie didn't trust any of those girls. Only her bravado and strength of will, not to mention her immense bitchiness, kept those girls in line. Were it not for Kim Possible, she'd be the undisputed queen of Middleton High.

Now here's a girl who prided herself of being the center of attention at all times doing everything possible to remain unseen. She didn't want to be here, she didn't like being in a situation that she couldn't control or manipulate in some way to create terms favorable to her. Here she was just another prisoner of the mist, a faceless drone at the beck and call of the red-haired queen of Smarty Mart. Kim always had to take charge of everything. She couldn't just step back and let someone else take charge. Who's to say Bonnie couldn't call the shots? No. It was always Kim and her inner circle of friends, telling everyone what to do, how to act, and who to be.

Feeling suffocated, Bonnie wanted nothing more to do with the Kim Squad and just wandered away. She'd shoved the pen and pad in her jean pocket and walked aimlessly around the store for several minutes when she saw, her eyes widening, Justine Flanner sneaking about. After their little confrontation in the restroom, Bonnie had to admit that Justine did make some sense. While Kim may not be directly responsible for what's happening, she knew more than she was letting on. Kim always kept secrets; that's how she stayed in charge, because information was power. It's just like that incident with the Bebe robots or the time Bonnie and Kim got stuck together with that abnormally powerful adhesive. Whenever Kim was involved, Bonnie was always made to suffer, never knowing what was going on until it was too late. Leave to that selfish redhead to bring her work to school and put innocent lives at risk.

Now a deadly mist has covered Middleton and here she was, against her will, trapped in a store filled with people she couldn't stand. Except Tara, Bonnie realized, but she was with Josh and while Bonnie admired her friend's taste in boys she did not want to be anyone's third wheel. Once again it was all Kim's fault. Bonnie needed to find answers. Perhaps Justine would enlighten her.

Following the blonde, Bonnie did a quick turnaround to make sure no one saw her enter the storage section and went inside. No sooner had the door swung shut when a voice froze Bonnie dead in her tracks. "Nosy, much?" Justine stood off to the side of the door, arms crossed, foot propped against the wall, and a smug smile on her face. "I knew you were following me."

Bonnie was about to ask how but Justine cut her off before she started. "Truthfully, I wanted you to see me. I saw you loitering around so I decided to let you see me sneaking. I tried to look as suspicious as possible, hoping I'd entice you to keep on the trail. Looks like I was right."

"If you wanted me to follow you, why not just ask me to come along?"

"We're not exactly friends, Bonnie. We're not even enemies for that matter. What I mean is there is no affiliation between us to justify a level of trust or suspicion between us. You might have just said no. After seeing you apologize to Kim, you might even be sympathetic enough to tell her of my whereabouts. She's looking for me, you know."

"And with good reason. You blame her father for all this."

"I blame no one. Not yet. I don't have the answers but I'm sure he's involved somehow."

"And you'll find those answers in the storage room?"

"More precisely, the loading dock."

Bonnie blinked. "Are you crazy?"

"I'm inquisitive. And so are you." Justine brushed by her. "You heard Ron's explanation. Did you believe it?"

"That there are man-eating tentacles in the mist? Of course not!" Actually she wasn't sure. Bonnie knew Ron could be eccentric at times but after what she's seen and heard it was hard to be sure about anything at the moment.

"Then why are you here?"

"I'm following you."

"And I'm following the truth." Justine glanced at her once. "Coming?" Then she walked away. Bonnie glowered at her back before following. They proceeded in silence; the storage area fully lit now that the power was back on in full, and had finally reached the loading bay area where the supposed attack had happened. It looked like a warzone, with torn bags and foodstuffs scattered throughout the area. There were two dark stains near the loading door. One of them was unmistakably human blood, which according to Ron had been Junior's.

"Is that...?" Bonnie began.

"Human blood."

"Then he was telling the truth?"

"Something did happen here, no doubt." Justine looked up at the loading door. "Though I don't see any tentacles, do you?"

"What about that?" Bonnie pointed at the blackish-green stain across the way. Neither of them had accompanied Kim and company when they came back to verify Ron's story so they had not seen the severed tentacle decay. Getting close, both girls covered their noses as the putrid scent assailed their senses. "Gross!"

Justine had to agree with Bonnie. Still holding her nose, she bent down to study the stain.

"Don't touch it!" Bonnie cried when she saw Justine reach out a finger.

Thinking it over, Justine had to agree. Her scientific curiosity had overcome her common sense and she almost touched a strange substance without any protection. Pulling back her hand, Justine stood up. "Let's move on." After putting the scene of the crime behind them, the girls scouted the rest of the immediate vicinity.

"What exactly are you looking for?" Bonnie asked.

"Even if what Ron said was true, we still need to know what we're up against." After looking around some more, they came to realize that aside from Ron's testimony and a stained floor, there was nothing that could tell them what they wanted to know.

"Happy?" Bonnie asked when she felt they were wasting their time. Maybe she had put too much faith into Justine's accusations in the first place. Justine no doubt fed on Bonnie's obvious distaste for the redhead, which is why she was so quick to believe her when she said not to trust Kim. Not that Bonnie needed to be told not to trust her. Kim was too much of a goodie-goodie and too self-righteous for Bonnie to believe as anything but fake. No one was that lucky, that fortunate, and that downright _popular._ Sure Bonnie was ranked pretty high in the school hierarchy, but that's because she earned it, through sweat, blood and tears - and a little rumor thrown in here and there to bring down the competition. It was hard work, but by God, she earned her place in the Food Chain.

When did Kim last struggle for anything? What effort did she put into life? Why couldn't people see that she was just so full of it?

So why was she here, in the storage room of a second-rate retail store with a girl she barely knew trying to find evidence damning Kim Possible? "Do you think it's true?" She asked all of a sudden.

The question caught Justine off guard. She whipped her neck around so fast that Bonnie almost thought it would slide off. "Huh?"

"That there are things in the mist?"

"I didn't see anything. Did you?"

"But what about those people? What were they screaming about?"

Justine shrugged. "Maybe they were afraid of the dark." She turned back around.

"They didn't come back." Bonnie's statement froze the blonde in her spot. "No one came back, Justine."

"For all we know, the mist is some poisonous cloud. It could have killed those people."

"And that woman that left?"

"Ms. Vespers?"

"That's right." Bonnie went around so that she could face Justine. "She just walked out. It didn't look like she had any trouble breathing to me."

"Look, Bonnie. I stopped believing in monsters when I was four years old. Everything, no matter how bizarre or fantastic, can be explained scientifically. I don't believe for one instant that there are creatures in the mist. As for Ms. Vespers, sometimes deadly fumes take a moment to have an effect. She might have taken two steps and collapsed right in front of the door. The mist is so thick you just can't see it. You might find her body if you go looking for her. Though I'd suggest you cover your nose."

Justine moved to go around Bonnie but was stopped when the brunette came around to block her. "What is it now, Bonnie?"

Bonnie crossed her arms. "Why do you want to take Kim down so badly?"

"You're defending her now?"

"I'm not as dumb as I look, remember? I'm starting to get the feeling that there's something personal between you and Kim. I want to know why."

"There is nothing personal. And even if there was, why do you care? I would think you'd jump at the chance to bring down Kim Possible."

"Under different circumstances, yeah, I would. But now..."

"Now would be your best chance. You remember what I told you about scared people? They always look for someone to blame and the first person blamed is always the one at the top of the Food Chain. Right now, that's Kim. You'll never have a better chance."

"You want me to turn an angry mob on her?"

"You're the kind of girl who likes to kick people when they are down."

"Not literally. And since when is this about me?"

"I thought it always was."

"What is your problem?"

"I don't have problems, just solutions. Problems are an external obstacle created by ignorant or otherwise stupid people." In the most defying action yet, Justine leaned in close, coming face to face with Bonnie, her eyes showing no recourse. "Are you going to be a problem, Bonnie?" The manner in which she spoke made Bonnie take a step back. She recovered herself quickly, but by then had lost all momentum in the dialogue. That, and Justine was already walking away, believing her point made, though what that may be Bonnie had yet to figure out.

She knew there was more to this than a simple search for the truth. The Flanner girl was obviously up to something and Possible was an essential part in it. Maybe she should warn her; tell her to keep an eye on Justine and don't turn her back on her for a second. Normally Bonnie wouldn't care what happened to Kim, but those last words Justine said to her were spoken with such iciness, such unwavering animosity, that Bonnie suddenly felt much colder...and it wasn't because she was standing underneath a vent.

Something thudded above her. Bonnie looked up at the air vent, her eyes narrowing when she thought she heard something skittering against metal. "Did you hear that?"

Her question had Justine spin around to regard her. "What?"

"Shh." Bonnie took a step back and motioned to the vent. It sounded like fingernails grating against cold steel. The girls exchanged bewildered looks before working towards each other in a semi-circle pattern. "What do you think that is?"

"I don't know." Then Justine said. "Let's get a broom."

"Why?"

"Why do you think? I want to open it up."

"Are you crazy?" Bonnie almost screamed.

Justine gave her a disgusted look and went off to find a broom, or something of equal length, in which to prop open the vent. When she returned, Bonnie was still standing at a respectable distance from the vent. The ventilation shaft ran the length of the ceiling, which was much lower (roughly six feet above their heads) compared to the cavern-like roofs of the newer storage spaces.

Justine held in her hands a mop which she found by the water heaters, no doubt used to clean up spills. She asked Bonnie whether the noise had moved and when she said no, approached the vent with the mop held before her like some kind of defensive weapon. Bonnie could tell Justine was nervous. It was second nature for girls, even scientific ones, to be creeped by strange sounds they heard coming from closed spaces. Images of creepy crawlies scattered about her brain and Bonnie felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She visibly trembled as Justine stood underneath the shaft. Confident she had a good grip, as well as enough room to react quickly if something did jump down at her; Justine raised the mop handle-first, and pushed against the bottom of the vent.

She had to struggle at first, but gradually the partition gave way. It fell to the concrete ground with a foot-trembling thud. Justine had moved out of the way just in time, though even she clenched her teeth at the close call. _Well what did you think was going to happen, Einstein?_ Bonnie eyed her in disbelief.

With a gaping hole above them, Bonnie and Justine slowly walked back into its periphery. They were barley inches from each other and didn't realize it, but that was because they were so nervous that the need for human contact overruled personal space. "Do you hear anything?" Bonnie whispered into Justine's ear.

She shook her head. With a quick glance at Bonnie (which turned into a gawk as she realized how close they were) Justine stepped away (so did Bonnie) and grabbed the mop tightly. She thrust it back into the vent and began moving it around, hoping to hit something. Something hit alright...her.

The mop was pulled from her grasp so fast and so suddenly that the lower end smacked Justine in the face. She cried out, grabbing her chin, and stumbled backward. Bonnie screamed too, but that was because the mop was being twirled back and forth so violently that one would think it was being fed into a woodcutter. It gradually disappeared into the vent. Crunching and tearing sounds followed suit, followed by what appeared to be several nails scraping eagerly onto steel.

Justine came around, actually using Bonnie as a human shield. "What the shit!" Bonnie didn't know the girl knew how to curse. But she was only saying what she was thinking. She just didn't appreciate being nudged closer to the vent like the proverbial sacrificial lamb.

"Stop pushing!"

"It ate the mop!"

"And it'll eat me too if you don't cut it out!" Bonnie shoved her away. "We have to get out of here!"

"Look!" Justine pointed and Bonnie followed her view back to the vent. Something was there, at the edge of the hole, leering back at them. The nail-tapping sound followed and soon a gray mass began to slither, or rather fall, out of the shaft. The girls screamed. A long, flat body, wider still than the two of them standing abreast, slapped onto the ground, making a sickly _plop_ that was further accompanied by a slithery tail. Translucent in view, it was twice the length of the creature's squat, flat husk, and if they didn't know any better seemed to in the throes of agony.

The creature gurgled loudly, a sound that reminded them of the clearing of a kitchen faucet after the soap went down, churning and shaking. The girls stayed clear of the tail which was easily the more precarious of the two and watched in awe and revulsion as this thing, seeming to be some mutated manta ray, excreted some kind of greenish push from underneath its body. The smell was horrendous, but if that weren't enough, it turned, the tail snapping even faster, revealing a series of jagged, insect-like legs that squirmed and kicked into the air. The legs continued to kick until finally, and with a final _gargle_, the creature contracted, like it was hugging itself, the tail falling dead silent, the tip wriggling a few seconds more before going still.

All that remained was the scent, an aroma of death and rot. The pus was everywhere and covered the creature's bottom like vomit.

Justine and Bonnie were backpedaling all this time. They stopped when they could go no further, as they came up against a railing that separated one part of the storage room from another. "I'm going to throw up," Bonnie announced, and she could taste the bile coming up.

"I think it's dead." Justine looked closer.

"Well don't get close!"

"What is it?"

"A giant bug. Can we go now?"

"Bonnie..." Justine's face actually lit up, albeit behind her mouth as it was still pinching her nose. "This is it."

"This is what?"

Justine looked back. "Our evidence."

"Evidence? I thought you didn't believe in monsters. This means that Stoppable was right."

"No, Bonnie, you don't understand."

"Huh?"

Justine glanced at the dead creature, carefully. Some of the legs still kicked, an involuntary nerve action, but it did not move. Justine was smiling ear to ear. "I don't believe it."

"Believe what? What the hell are you so excited about?"

"Because now I have proof. I know that Kim's dad was responsible for the mist."


	6. Monsters

**Darev: **It's been a long time coming but I finally finished this chapter. The Bonnie/Justine subplot has taken a lot of time to develop and I apologize for the wait. It's not easy being a writer with so much free time. I really need a job.

I was hoping to finish up the entire story by this Halloween but it has been slow in creation. I know I said I'd update in spurts but I don't know if I can keep up that pace. Bear with me and we'll see how this works out. Also, I'm adding a slight change to the page break. And now the thank you portion of the ramble.

Thank you, Daydreamer 9, CajunBear73, Uzziel, Reader101w, Shadowgirl416, Awesomestpennameyoucanthinko f (and how!), Dittolicious, Soulman 3, Sonicethehedgewolf, and newcomer Tragic Guy 20 for leaving a review.

**KP**

"Here goes nothing." Felix, sitting in front of the makeshift display, motioned for Ron to hit the switch. His friend did just that, forcing the heavy handle into a down position. Almost immediately there was a whir of machinery as the communication satellite came to life. It was actually a hodgepodge of machinery sewn together by hard work, a lot of tape, and in some places, a prayer. It tittered precariously in the clearing of aisles that Ron and Felix had been tirelessly working in for the past two hours.

Most of the patrons had no idea what they were doing. Now a crowd had gathered around the duo with Rufus watching from the sidelines in the company of the children. The mole rat had been making himself useful by keeping the kids' minds off of the terrible string of events that had befallen the city of Middleton. He was hardly ever away from Ron but his friend needed a distraction, something to do besides ponder his failure to save Junior's life when the monstrous tentacles attacked. It seemed to have paid off, Rufus thought, for his friend had thrown himself wholeheartedly into the task, putting all his attention to the task at hand.

Now the machine sparked to life and the floors reverberated. Stepping beside Felix, Ron watched as lines of electricity traveled up the cables and coalesced into a single beam at the top of the array. It was Felix's hope that this contraption would enable them to get a strong enough signal to penetrate through the ceiling and the mist that would allow them to contact the outside.

"Readings holding steady," Felix announced, an excited murmur going through the crowed. "Signal strength...at acceptable levels." He looked up at Ron who smiled for the first time since the loading bay incident. "I think we did it, partner."

The entity known as jinx must have been in the crowd for no sooner had Felix uttered those words when the array began to shake violently. The screen went blank and Felix couldn't get it to respond. "No!" He typed away on the keyboard and all he got for his trouble was a jolt of electricity that shocked his finger. As if that were the last straw, the array groaned and leaned over more. The patrons scattered and Rufus was left trembling as the top of the array fell towards him. Fortunately a sturdy pair of hands grabbed him and pulled him back just before the construct collapsed.

Oscar held Rufus protectively, stroking the rodent's bald head like a parent would a frightened child, which ironically Rufus had been keeping company with recently. He waited until Rufus stopped shaking and the patrons regrouped around the ruins of the improvised satellite before approaching the boys. "Looks like it didn't work."

"You think?" Had his legs worked, Felix would have kicked them by now. "I can't believe this!" He settled for slapping the side of his wheelchair, numbing his palm on contact. "All that work and for nothing!"

"Not nothing, son. You were putting your skills to good use."

"For all the good it did me."

Ron put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Chill, Felix. You did the best you could."

"Yeah, I guess." Still frustrated but less angry, Felix wheeled away from his failed invention. "I guess I'm just not as good as my mom."

"Felix..."

"It's okay, Ron-man. I'll just have to find something else to do." He looked at Oscar. "What happened to Rufus?"

"The poor fellow was nearly squashed like a bug."

Seeing this, Ron ran to Oscar and took the mole rat. "Rufus! Are you okay?" Rufus looked at him, black eyes wide, and nodded. "You saved him?" He asked Oscar.

"I happened to be nearby when it happened."

"Thank you, Oscar." Ron was very grateful.

"Well I couldn't let one of our patrons bite the dust, now could I?"

Ron chuckled at that. He put Rufus in his shirt pocket, clean since he changed from the one that was covered in Junior's blood. "Patron? Rufus never spent a dime at Smarty Mart." Back in the vicinity and safety of his owner/best friend, Rufus settled down. "Glad you're okay, little buddy."

Oscar smiled. It looked like the old Ron was coming back.

"What happened?" Mr. Barkin, who had been overseeing the fortification of their store, asked as he brushed through the crowd which was fast diminishing. "It sounded like a mortar shell in Da Nang."

Felix looked up to Mr. Barkin, disappointed. "The communication tower fell apart. I'm sorry."

"You did your best," Oscar told him, but the look on the youth's face told him he wasn't in the mood for consoling, or as he saw it, patronizing. "Look, why don't you two take a break." Oscar pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. "A couple of guys had a great idea not too long ago. They're starting a barbecue and are cooking up lots of grub. They figured it would be a great way to boost morale and let us all come together as friends and neighbors."

"A barbecue in the middle of a warzone?" Barkin's brow furrowed. "Quaint."

"Well I wouldn't call this a warzone, Steven."

"And what would you call it, Oscar?"

The seasoned Smarty Mart employee was at a lost, but Felix filled in the blank for him. "A very bad situation," he called it, rolling by with his head hanging low. The array's failure was truly weighing on him.

"He's taking it rough," Oscar commented to Ron who walked up next to him. "Maybe you should keep an eye on him, Ronald."

Ron thought on it a moment, moved to follow, and then stopped.

"What's wrong? Did Felix say something to you?"

"It's not the array, Oscar, or the fact that it fell apart. Felix is worried about his mom. He really wants to know if she's okay." Ron turned to face both men, his eyes pleading. "Isn't there any other way we can get through to somebody on the outside?"

"Well I would suggest smoke signals but I don't that's going to work in this weather." Oscar's attempt at humor received no accolades. "Sorry. Bad joke."

"Hey, guys." Kim and Monique, seemingly joined at the hip now, appeared as one, their faces grim. Kim looked at the pile of junk on the floor and noticed Felix's absence. "I'm guessing the satellite thing didn't work out."

"You think?" Monique kicked a piece of metal for good measure.

"Hey, KP. Mon."'

"You look like shit, Ron."

"Right back at ya, Monique." Ron added. "No offense."

"None taken."

Barkin addressed Kim directly. He kept his hands behind his back as if he were speaking to a fellow officer in the military. "Everything copasetic on your end, Possible?"

"If by copasetic you mean the situation hasn't changed one bit, then yes. Everything is totally copasetic."

Monique touched her arm. "Chill, girl. You're doing the best you can."

"We all are." Oscar stepped between them. "I can't tell you how proud I am of the job we're doing. If I was your boss and you were my employees then I'd give you all raises."

That seemed to brighten everyone's mood, even Mr. Barkin who managed something of a smirk.

"Now what say we all grab a bite to eat? We'll need our strength if we're going to hold down the fort until help arrives."

While Ron tried to remain cautiously optimistic about the chances of that happening, he didn't want to entertain the thought of people being anywhere in the mist. He still had flashbacks of that time in the loading dock, the tentacles seeping in like serpents from hell, slithering, biting, tearing bits of Junior off of him like he were a late-night snack. That's what we are to them, Ron thought, food. If those things were to get inside with all these people about, it would be a massacre.

He looked at the front of the Smarty Mart where Barkin's team of volunteers had stacked bags of flour and manure up in a makeshift barricade against the windows. He recalled how the steel loading door was nearly rent when the tentacles applied pressure from the outside. What good was all the stacked shit in the world against something like that?

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked at Kim. "Ron? You alright?"

No matter what his feelings he had to be strong, for Kim as much as himself. "Hanging in there, KP." Smiling, he took her hand. "Come on. I'm starving."

**KP**

They had covered the corpse using a tarp and dragged it out of the storage room. Between the two of them, Bonnie and Justine were able to sneak it by any onlookers by going down the side aisles, carefully making their way back towards the bathroom where they had first met. For added security, Justine made sure to place an OUT OF ORDER sign at the front door and upon one last look to make sure the coast was clear, closed the door.

"What the hell are we doing?" Bonnie asked aloud. She threw down the tarp in disgust. It was soaked from the creature's blood and had stained her hands green with puss. Disgusted, the brunette moved to wash her hands at the sink.

Justine approached the tarp and removed it so that she could get a good look at the creature. The thing resembled a translucent manta ray with a spindly tail that was twice the length of its body. Below it were a series of cockroach-like legs that had no doubt creating that skittering sound they heard in the ventilation ducts back in the storage room. The thing was dead, no doubt, but Justine still maintained a healthy distance. Like Bonnie she had gotten some of the green-puss blood on her while they dragged it out, though unlike Bonnie she was in no hurry to remove the stuff.

"Fascinating." Justine knelt before it.

"You and I have a very different opinion on what constitutes fascinating, Ms. Flanner."

"Why Ms. Rockwaller," Justine stood up and walked to the sink. "I'd no idea you could be so formal." She took washed the stuff from her hands. Her clothing stains were another matter. "The fact remains that we have our evidence. Now we can prove that Dr. Possible was responsible for this mess."

"You still haven't told me how you figured that out." When cold water would not suffice, Bonnie turned the faucet onto scalding, hoping that would erase the stench from her hands. It took but two seconds to regret that decision and she pulled her hands back, wincing in pain. Waving her digits in front of her, Bonnie asked, "How do you know it was Kim's dad?"

"Because I've seen that thing before."

Bonnie's eyes bulged. "You have?!"

"An artist's rendering, actually."

"You mean a picture?"

"In laymen's terms, yes." Justine shut off the faucet and went to dry her hands. "I was hacking into the space center's computer mainframe and managed to pick out a few pieces of Intel before I was forced to abort. Most of what I found was logistics, personnel, names, and such, but some of the more secret files proved very...interesting." Her eyes fell on the corpse when she said that. "Apparently someone had seen a creature like this and drew a rough sketch of it. The image I saw was a computer rendering but it was almost identical to this one." Justine looked at Bonnie. "Whatever they were working on in the space center has something to do with this thing."

"And Dr. Possible?"

"You can't tell me the head of research and development had no idea."

"That still doesn't mean he was responsible for the mist."

"Bonnie, what's two plus two?"

Bonnie looked at her incredulously for asking such a ridiculous question. "What?"

Justine asked again. "What is two plus two?"

"Four."

"It all adds up when you put the pieces together."

"You're not making any sense, Flanner."

Justine fought the urge to smack her upside the head. Honestly, some people can be so dense. Either that or they were just plain stupid, or both. She decided the jury was still out on that one with Bonnie and returned to studying the creature. "Look, I'm not saying that Kim's father did anything wrong intentionally, but one way or another he is part of the reason that this happened."

"Kim thinks otherwise."

"Of course she would. If someone were implicating your father wouldn't you defend him?"

Bonnie looked away. "You haven't met my father."

Justine raised an eyebrow at that. Clearly there was more to Bonnie Rockwaller than meets the eye. An investigation for another time, she thought. She stood up. "Regardless of how she feels, we have to bring this to everyone's attention. If more of these things are skittering about then people need to know."

"Like they aren't scared enough as it is."

"I don't like it anymore than you do, Bonnie."

"Really?" She placed her hands on her hips. "Because it looks to me like you've got it out for Kim Possible."

Justine glared at her. Bonnie smiled right back. "Am I wrong?"

"Most of the time."

Now it was Bonnie's turn to glare.

"But I don't want to argue with you right now. Like it or not, Bonnie, and I certainly don't, we're in this together. As far as I know, you don't very much like Kim or her boyfriend. I'd thought you'd jump at the chance to discredit them both."

"How does the loser fit into all of this?"

"Because whatever affects Kim affects Ron, and hurting her reputation, even vicariously through the fault of her father, would hurt Ron as well. Think about it." She had to smile. "You could accomplish what you couldn't do in four years of high school: bring down the almighty Kim Possible." Justine caught a glimmer of satisfaction in Bonnie's green eyes. The girl was intrigued, this much was undeniable. She would just have to prey on Bonnie's innate desire to defeat her all-time rival once and for all. It wouldn't hurt to have Middleton's Queen of Mean in her pocket.

Something that resembled indecision crossed Bonnie's face.

"You will never get this chance again, Bonnie."

She glared at Justine. "I know how to fight my battles."

"Then prove it." Justine held out her hand. "Prove it by taking advantage of a once in a lifetime opportunity."

Bonnie just looked at her offered hand. "What's this?"

"A partnership. A temporary one, but one that will suffice to suit both our needs."

"You and me?"

"Working together for the common good."

Bonnie's eyebrow went up.

"For our good, then." Despite the darkness in her voice, Justine was being entirely sincere. She meant every word. "Well?"

Conflict raged within Bonnie and a part of her wanted to just walk away from all this. She always thought that she had the silver tongue in the school, but Justine Flanner proved to have one made of gold. The chance to defeat Kim, to show everyone that she wasn't all that, that even gods could fall, was just too tempting. Yes. She could bring down a god. All she had to do was make a pact with the devil.

A devil named Justine.

Almost involuntarily, Bonnie's hand went up. Tanned fingers clasped one another as the two conspirators made their pact.

"It's a deal then...partner."

Bonnie had felt less dirty when she had the monster's blood on her hands.

**KP**

It was pitch-black outside. Night had fallen and still the mist lingered on. The tension inside had settled somewhat now that the people had food in their stomachs. People ate, sat together, and socialized, allowing a small sense of normalcy to return to the megastore after hours of uncertainty. Needless to say the barbecue was a big success and got everyone's spirits up. With the festive mood the patrons almost forgot about the mist outside.

Almost.

Ned was sitting by himself, eating a hamburger. He looked bored. Felix rolled by him at that second, a tray of food in his lap. "Mind if I sit here?"

Ned looked at him, befuddled. "But you already have a," his eyes lit up. "Oh. That was a joke!"

Felix winked at him. "I don't care what Ron says about you. You're sharp as whip."

Ned almost coughed on his hamburger. "Ron says things about me behind my back?"

But Felix was already laughing so hard he almost dropped his tray. "I'm just kidding with you, Ned. Geez, man. Relax." He parked himself right beside Ned. "You look like you wish you were somewhere else."

"Don't I ever?"

"I hear you. Anyplace is better than this." Felix pulled the bun off his burger. "I told the guy I wanted ketchup."

Ned went into his pocket and pulled out several packets. "Here you go." He handed them to Felix. "Always come prepared."

"You walk around with ketchup packets in your pocket?"

"Actually it's chimarito sauce. I pretty much take my job wherever I go." The scrawny youth took a huge bite out of his burger and chewed thoroughly. "Try it."

Against his better judgment, and not wanting to insult Ned, Felix did put the sauce on his burger. It took a few deep breaths before he gathered enough courage to take a bite out of it.

"How is it?" Ned asked. He spent the next minute and a half slapping Felix in the back due to a serious coughing fit. "Don't worry about it, rookie." Now it was Ned who was smiling. "There are not many who can handle the orange dragon."

Felix took a long sip out of his bottled soda, gradually regaining control of his throat and breathing.

"So I heard the communication array broke up." Ned tried to sound jovial, which made it sound like he was making fun of Felix. "That's too bad. Though I guess you just didn't have the right equipment. Even Smarty Mart doesn't have everything."

"It wasn't Smarty Mart."

"Oh?"

Felix suddenly lost his appetite. "It was me." He sighed. "I'm just not smart enough to build an array of that magnitude. If my mom were here she'd have it up in a jiffy. I wish she was here."

For once Ned was observant enough to realize that Felix was really bothered by something and his next question wasn't so upbeat. "Are you okay, Felix?"

"No, Ned, I'm not. I should be home but instead I'm here."

"Why did you leave?"

"I was on a food run. We were running low so I came here."

"And why didn't your mom do the shopping? Seems weird that she'd let her only paraplegic son go out on his own."

"She works at the space center, Ned. I was home alone. Someone had to do the shopping."

"Don't you have someone to look out for you?"

Felix turned on him rather sharply. "Do you think I'm incapable of doing anything by myself? What, you think I'm a cripple through and through? I can do plenty of things. That includes leaving the house without a babysitter." He pointed to himself using his thumb. "I'm my own man. Just because I can't walk doesn't mean I can't run with the big dogs, okay?"

Ned held up his hands reflexively. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry."

"You just sound so insensitive. People can get the wrong idea."

"You're right. And I'm sorry. I'm just not used to talking to people."

The Renton boy settled back. "What are you talking about? I see you working the cashier all the time."

"That's work. I meant socializing with people. In case you notice I don't have a lot of friends."

Felix had noticed. He was much more observant than Ned, than most people as a matter of fact. While not a regular at Bueno Nacho, he had been there enough times to refer to Ned on a first-name basis. The two had barely exchanged anything more than a pleasant greeting and farewell, making them no more than mere acquaintances. Come to think of it, Felix did not remember seeing Ned anywhere other than the Bueno Nacho. Did he even go to school? Could his parents afford it? Looking at him now he realized that he knew nothing about the boy.

"Actually I don't have any friends." Ned was embarrassed to say.

"What about Kim and Ron?"

"They're just regular customers. I just give them their food, they eat, and they leave."

"I had no idea."

"I know you didn't." Ned spoke harshly and regretted it soon after. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that how it came out."

Fortunately Felix did not push the issue. "It's cool." He took another bite out of his burger. This time he coughed only two times and Ned looked at him with newfound respect. "You know something? It's not that bad when you get used to it."

That brought a smile to Ned's face.

For some reason, Felix felt a kindred soul was sitting right next to him. Not one to miss out on an opportunity he picked up his soda. "So about not having any friends," he began and lifted the soda in a toast. "Consider me your first one."

"Really?"

"Come on, dude. We're all bros when the chips are down." He waited for Ned to pick up his soda before tapping them together. "Cheers."

"Kampai."

"Salud."

"Bottom's up."

They drank in fellowship.

"Those two are hitting it off." Monique observed from where she was sitting with Kim and Ron (and Rufus of course). "Wonder what they're talking about." She turned to Kim who was focused solely on Ron. The boy hadn't touched his meal despite his earlier comment about being starved. He picked as his steak a couple of times but hadn't taken a single bite.

"Ron?" Kim had called for his attention twice without success.

Ron was staring right at his steak. All that meat, so succulent, so red; it reminded him of Junior as the tentacle ripped him to shreds. The image proved too much and Ron dropped his plate, and Rufus, and ran to the nearest restroom to throw up.

"Ron!" Kim put her plate down and ran after him, ignoring the concerned eyes that followed her. Shaking his head clear of stars, Rufus got up and gave chase, hot on Kim's trail.

"Left behind again," Monique said as she watched her friends run off. Getting up, the ebon-skinned girl walked off from the rest of the pack. She didn't see Ned eyeing her from the other way. His cheeks flushed and his pores opened up to release sweat after watching the way Monique sauntered off.

"Someone's got a crush."

Forgetting he wasn't alone, Ned jumped and turned to Felix. "What?"

"Dude, it's cool. You like Monique."

"I do?"

"Does chimarito sauce burn your tongue?"

"Of course it does. It...oh...you're playing with me again."

"Like a fiddle."

"I hate fiddles." Ned grumbled.

"Dude, you should go talk to her."

Now he blushed. "Me?"

"No the burger. Yes _you_. Go after her."

"I can't talk to Monique."

"Why not? Is there a law I don't know about?" Felix looked around. "Does she have a boyfriend?"

"I don't think so."

"Then what's the problem?"

Ned suddenly found it very difficult to talk to his new friend. "It's just a stupid crush."

"Then be the bug and get stepped on because your crush is walking away. Trust me I know a thing or two about crushes."

He looked up. "You do?"

"Zita Flores." Just saying her name filled Felix with warm feelings. "Prettiest girl at Middleton High."

Ned had to think on it. "Oh, you mean the Mexican girl. I've seen her a couple of times around the Bueno Nacho but she usually eats outside." He spoke as he ate, bits of meat, bread, tomato, and chimarito sauce flying out. "You know Ron had a crush on her for a while."

Felix shrugged. He couldn't argue with his best friend's taste in women. Zita, Kim, Tara; the boy knew how to pick them. He even recalled seeing Ron with a cute exchange student from Japan in the hallway one day. The guy was a babe magnet, not that Felix would ever tell him of course. For all his animal magnetism, Ron was a little full of himself and even the smallest compliment would make him feeling like he was the big man on campus. There were times when Felix had stop and ask himself just what made a guy like Ron so attractive to the ladies. He'd convinced himself it was the freckles but then he got to thinking it was the whole clueless boy routine. Spend any amount of time with Ron and you'd quickly learn that it wasn't a routine.

_Maybe hot girls just like hopeless causes._

"She is pretty," he heard Ned mention.

Thinking about Zita, her brown skin, her Aboriginal hair, the slight curl to her speech, and that rump! Suddenly Felix was feeling very hot and it wasn't the chimarito sauce. "She sure is."

"You think so, too?"

That snapped him out of it. "What?"

"Monique. I was just telling you how pretty she is."

"Oh. Sure. She is pretty, Ned." He put a hand on the boy's back. "All the more reason," and shoved him off his seat, "for you to go talk to her." Ned stumbled but caught his balance. "And tell her how you feel."

"How...I...feel?"

Had he feeling in his legs Felix would have kicked him in the butt. "Go! Leave your plate here. I'll clean it up for you." Though Ned had pretty much finished his meal, Felix didn't want him to have an excuse not to go speak with Monique. Watching him fiddle around just a bit more, Ned placed the plate down and fixed his glasses.

"I guess I can give it a shot." He straightened up. "What's the worse she can do?"

"Laugh at you and call you a wimp."

Ned turned back, horrified. "What?!"

I've got to stop doing this, Felix thought. "I jest! Just pick a topic. Most girls are easy to talk to once you get over your own inhibitions."

"You mean like you and Zita?"

Felix offered an awkward smile. "Yeah. Like me and Zita."

Slowly regaining his confidence, which was followed by deep breaths, Ned stood up straight, puffed out his chest, and nodded. "Okay. Here I go." He walked away.

Alone, Felix considered his words to Ned. "Maybe you should follow your own advice, Felix Renton."

**KP**

Kim stood outside the men's lavatory, hearing Ron empty his bowels from the inside. A moment later the door opened and Rufus popped out. "How's he doing?"

The naked mole rat shook his head. "Bad."

She sighed. "The thing at the loading dock is really tearing into him, isn't it, Rufus?"

Rufus nodded, rubbing his paws together nervously.

"I can't imagine what that must have been like, seeing someone killed before your eyes." Inside the bathroom, Ron hurled so loudly that Kim flinched. "It must have terrible." Kim shook her head. "What am I saying? Of course it was terrible! God, Ron, why wasn't I there with you?"

Rufus looked at her quizzidly.

"I would have been able to help you. We could have saved Junior, you and I. We save people together all the time. He didn't need to die." She slumped against the wall. "You wouldn't have to suffer." Ron hurled again, coughing and spitting. "I'm so sorry." Shutting her eyes, Kim was on her backside, leaning on the wall, and hugging her legs together. "I should have been there with you."

Heavy footsteps approached her. "Possible." Mr. Barkin paused when he noticed her posture. He was about to ask what was going on when he heard the ruckus inside. Looking at Kim, who finally looked up, he said, "Stoppable?"

She nodded.

Steven sighed. "It's about that kid, isn't it?"

"He blames himself for what happened. I know it."

"If what Oscar told me was true, and he's never one to exaggerate, he did everything he could to save Thomas Bartholomew Junior. It's never easy to lose men under any circumstances. Believe me, I know." Barkin's face softened for a moment. "But we can't save everyone. You understand that, don't you?"

"No." Kim shook her head. "I always save everyone."

"But sure enough one of these days..."

"Are you saying I'll fail one day and somebody will die?"

"It happens to all of us eventually."

But Kim stood up, her face stern and her voice hard. "No. It does not happen to me. It will _never_ happen to me. I save people, Mr. Barkin. It's what I do."

Mr. Barkin waited for Ron's current fitting episode to subside before addressing his student. "Kim," it was rare when he addressed her by her first name. Mr. Barkin was a military man whose service record was as long as his arm. As both a commander and a follower of men, he learned to keep things professional between him and his fellow soldiers. It hurt when you lost a friend and comrade, but things were made worse when that friend had a name, a family, a life. Steven had shed so many tears in his life that he'd forgotten long ago how to cry.

"You're smart, Kim. I daresay you're even brilliant. But you're still young and therefore naive. It's a hard lesson we all must learn and Ronald is learning it as we speak."

"He's traumatized."

"The first time is always the hardest."

"It won't happen again." Kim clenched her fist. "Not if I have anything to say about it."

One of Barkin's eyebrows went up. "Oh. I see how it is. You plan on protecting him from now on."

"Ron and I help each other."

"Protecting him is not helping him, Possible." It was back to last names again. "I don't know if you've noticed but your boyfriend had done some growing up over the years. He's still a bit rough around the edges but he's made of sterner stuff than most. Trust me, Possible, I know...because he reminds me a lot of myself when I was his age."

Kim gawked at that. "You were like Ron?"

"In some ways, yes. I did save the world once you know."

"Actually I didn't know that."

"We should exchange stories sometime, Possible. I was lost and without direction. Then a mentor took me under his wing and showed me the ropes. I learned many difficult lessons while under his tutelage. But the most important thing he taught me is that sometimes no matter how hard you try, no matter what tricks you employ or strategy you come up with, things just go bad."

"But you don't give up."

"That's right. You don't." Ron hurled again. "But that doesn't make the loss any easier." Rufus had gone in by that point, his concern for Ron overriding his need to give him space. "For the first time Stoppable knows what it is to truly fail. It's eating him up inside and will continue to do so. He will never forget this day."

"I'll be with him."

"You can't protect him from the world, Possible."

"In case you don't know, anything is possible for a Possible."

"Really?" Mr. Barkin scrutinized her. "Does that include humility?"

Kim did not back down. She never did. "It includes being there for the people you care about."

"You can't always be there for everyone."

"Watch me!"

"Oh I am watching you. A lot of people are watching you." Barkin walked away. "They will see the best and the worst of you before this is all over." Something in his voice made the comment sound prophetic. "Come see me in the manager's office when you're done here, Possible. That green woman's starting to talk in her sleep."

"Shego?"

Ron's voice quieted down and turned to the door. Part of her wanted to go in and comfort Ron, to ignore what Mr. Barkin had said, to prove him wrong. She will always be there to protect him. _Except that one time._

"Don't let him get to you, Kim." She heard the faucet turn on inside. Gently, Kim knocked on the door. "Ron? Are you okay in there?" A grunt answered her. "Ron?"

The door opened up and Ron staggered out. Kim smelled the foulness of the regurgitation on him and stepped away. Then she remembered why she was here. "I'm here for you, Ron."

"I know, KP." Balancing himself inside the doorway, Rufus running up Kim's shoulder, Ron looked at them both before saying, "I know I can always count on you both."

They smiled at him. After a couple of kind words, Kim told him what Mr. Barkin had said about Shego and she wanted him to accompany her. Ron followed, but only after Kim was out of earshot did he say, "I just hope you can count on me."

**KP**

Outside the Smarty Mart night had fallen. Those trapped on the inside would not be able to tell the difference, however. Like smoke the mist cut visibility down to near-zero. The Smarty Mart had been outfitted with floodlights atop the roof but even those powerful illuminating devices could not hope to penetrate the thick fog.

Vinnie peeked out from behind one of the loopholes in the barricade into the mist. "I can't see shit out there, man," he told Big Mike. Crouching back down, a half-eaten burger and hotdog on a plate next to him, Vinnie hugged his legs close to him. "You think the thing that got Junior is still out there, man? Cause if it is, I can't see it. It's probably looking at us right now. It probably wants to eat us, too." Shaking despite Oscar having turned the heat up for the whole store, Vinnie could not hide the tremble in his voice. "It ate him, man."

Always few with words, the giant that was Big Mike could not disagree. Even sitting he towered head and shoulders over the barricade. He too was traumatized over the incident in the loading dock, watching helplessly as his friend was dragged out by a monstrous tentacle...monster! The worst part about it was the guilt that came with doing nothing at all. He was so scared that he didn't move. He watched Junior being nibbled at by the alien appendages as they ripped pieces of skin and muscle off his body. He would remember Junior's screams until the day he died.

"Why'd they have to put us on guard duty, Big Mike? After what we've been through, why'd they put up here next to the windows? That thing might see us and try to get bust in. That's just glass, man. Ain't no way that's holding up against what ate our boy."

Big Mike shuddered, his massive frame crunched lower against the manure bags.

"That Barkin's a real ass. We shouldn't be here."

"You're right." Monique appeared out of the blue. "Neither of you fools should be here in the first place. If you weren't, Junior might still be alive. If I recall correctly it was you who opened the door and let that thing inside."

Vinnie jumped up. "I didn't know! Okay! I didn't know that was out there."

But Monique crossed her arms.

"It was Junior's idea to go outside."

"So you're blaming him now."

"No. Yes. Man!" Vinnie was pulling at his hair. "You weren't there, okay? You didn't see it."

"No. And I'm glad I didn't." She stepped up to him, raising an accusing finger right in his face. "Now you listen to me. Both of you!" She eyed Big Mike as well. "You have nobody to blame but your own dumb selves. Getting high while the whole world's gone to shit is bad enough, but bitching about the consequences of your action proves how stupid you two really are. We've all got to pull our weight around here and since you two stoners were so baked you couldn't lift a finger to save your friend, you're stuck on wall duty."

"But,"

"Shut it!" She shoved Vinnie back so hard he fell onto Big Mike's lap. "Now I don't know if you've noticed but Ron is pretty messed up after what happened. He tried to save your friend and watched as he was dragged away by God knows what. He's trying to make up for it. He's in the bathroom right now puking up his food because he can't get the thought of Junior's death out of his head. You two assholes just filled your stomachs and all you can think of is how fucked up your life is. Well get over it!"

Vinnie winced at that. "Chill, girl."

"I'm not chilling, Vinnie. If I hear you bitch about how bad things are for you two again, I'm going to ask Mr. B and Oscar to lock you two up back in the generator room so if that thing comes calling back it'll be able to finish what it started. Got it!"

Both Vinnie and Big Mike nodded.

"Good." She walked away. "Damn fools," she shook her head. She didn't catch sight of Ned who had watched the exchange with heated interest.

"She's so badass." His eyes were fluttering and his cheeks blushed. He found his eyes lingering on her backside longer than he'd intended and was quick to duck behind the checkout counter when Monique, feeling somebody's eyes upon her, turned around. When she left, Ned poked his head out to make sure the coast was clear before stepping out. He sighed against the counter. "Who am I kidding? She's way too tough. She could never go for a wimp like me."

After witnessing the chewing out Monique gave to those boys it made him realize just how out of his league he was with her. Sure he admired her fire and spirit, and her brains and body, hell there was a lot of things Ned admired about her. He once heard it said that the heart wants what the heart wants. It's too bad that what the heart wants is often out of reach of the body.

A thought crossed his head as he looked to regard Mike and Vinnie: _I have as much chance of hooking up with Monique as they do, and she doesn't like them._

"Come to think of it, she doesn't like me either," he said aloud. He had a whole speech planned out when he finally gathered the courage to speak to Monique, but after seeing her tear into those two boys everything and anything Ned could have said seemed pitiful. It was chance that she happened to be in Kim's car after his little fender bender accident. It was fate that he sat next to her on the ride over here. Each time a power greater than his own seemed to be bringing them together and each time Ned failed to come through. If only Ned could be as confident with women as Felix and Ron were with theirs. They never had trouble attracting the opposite sex. What was their secret?

He pondered this as he walked down the barricade line, almost in the same direction he saw Monique go. There were several people put on "guard duty" though they mostly seemed concerned with finishing their meal than keeping watch. He couldn't blame them. These were regular people, townsfolk who lived ordinary lives up until a few hours ago. They didn't have the military experience of Mr. Barkin or the courage of Kim Possible. They weren't even trying to keep watch, Ned noticed, and seemed to believe that the plate-glass window would be enough to keep them safe from the mist.

They just want to believe that they'll be okay, he thought to himself. Just like I want to believe that someday I will have the courage to talk to Monique. Ned laughed despite a couple of onlookers looking at him like he was crazy. It wasn't the same thing. His issues with Monique were hormonal, built from a desire to be in the presence of a beautiful woman. This was a life and death situation brought on by an Act of God, beyond anyone's control.

"If Ma could see me now," he said as he leaned against the stacked fertilizer bags. "'Were you scared?' she'd ask, and I'd say, 'No way, Ma. I was too busy thinking about a girl. The mist was the last thing on my mind.'" Ned couldn't believe himself. It's true what they say. You really do find out things about yourself when the shit hits the fan. Then it hit him. "Ma, if you're out there, please be safe."

_Thump!_

The sound startled Ned so much that he literally jumped. "What was that?" He looked around to see if anybody else had heard it but no one did. Ned could just make out the curb of the sidewalk running along the front of Smart Mart and that was a good four feet away. He peered as far as he could but that was like trying to look through a rain-soaked mirror.

_Thump!_

This time he was better prepared and did not jump, though he did visibly start. "There it goes again." It was somebody was banging their fist against the window. A third bumped followed shortly, and then a third.

Someone cried out down the barricade. Ned and several others followed the sound to a woman who was covering her mouth and pointing out the window. "Look!" She cried when she had enough sense to remove her hand. Ned and everyone else followed her gaze to the window where they could see a large dark spot just hanging there. All eyes thought it a trick of the mist at first...then it moved.

Ned's curiosity got the better of him and he was the first to move forward. The thing on the outside window was about two feet in length with an elongated body and multi-faceted eyes. The eyes were large, bulbous orbs that appeared red when the lamplight reflected off of them. They were as wide as quarters and protruded far enough that they could swivel this way and that, giving the thing a nearly three-hundred and sixty degree view. Translucent wings, far larger than a body of its size would require, fluttered every now and thing as if it were a nervous tick. There were two sets of wings, the forewings being larger than the back ones, and when moving in tandem they produced a _buzzing_ noise that reminded Ned of a small motor.

Without knowing it, Ned had moved closer than anyone else dare and his face was nearly touching the window. "It looks like a giant dragonfly," he announced. True enough the bug on the window was shaped like that infamous insect of the Odonata Order. Ned blanched when he saw the strange flesh-colored skin, a pinkish hue that permeated the creature's body. "And an ugly one at that."

The creature's eyes stared at him. Long stalks protruded from its head to extend the eyes out further. They whirred in Ned's direction as if they had somehow taken offense to his comment and were letting him know of it. Shocked, Ned moved away. "It's...looking at me."

"There's more," somebody pointed out. The view outside the window was filled with the bugs some as big as the one Ned studied, others approaching four and even five feet in length. Each time a bug taped itself to the window it would let out one of those _thumps_ Ned had picked up earlier. They swarmed the plate glass window, all glaring with those ugly, yellow bubble eyes at the patrons. "There's so many of them!" The woman who had first spotted them said, again with her mouth covered.

Ned stepped back. He bumped into the crowd who had gathered about him and noticed the same scared faces staring back at him. "I have to tell Kim." Ned darted away from the crowd.

**KP**

"Something...in...the mist..."

"How long has she been like this?" Kim asked Mr. Barkin.

"Not long. I was checking up on the two of them when she began this mantra about the mist."

"There's something in the mist." Both turned to regard Ron whose face was unreadable. "Those were the first words she said when she came to Smarty Mart."

"I remember," Kim said. She looked back at Shego. "She was ecstatic. Afraid. I've never seen Shego afraid before."

"Whatever she saw is affecting her right now." Mr. Barkin leaned over and used a hand towel to wipe the sweat off of Shego's brow. "She's having nightmares about that time. Her psyche is trapped in that experience. Her body is trying to wake up but her mind is still back in the mist."

"Will she wake up?"

"Don't know, Possible." He stood back and discarded the towel. "I've seen incidents like these back in the war, boys so traumatized by what they had seen that they'd wake up screaming in their bunks in the middle of the night. I had a few of those nights myself." He pinched his nose as if it hurt to remember them. "It's not easy to forget those things."

"But you got through them, right?"

Barkin turned to Kim.

"Right?"

"If you're asking me if she'll make a full recovery then I can't say yes. She might wake up, either today or tomorrow, or even next week, but she won't forget this. Whatever she saw will stay with her for the rest of her life."

That wasn't exactly what Kim wanted to hear. If Shego's experience in the mist was enough to leave her living the nightmare in her sleep, what did that mean for anyone else who went inside? Is this the fate that awaited Kim when she finally confronted the terrors inside the mist? Would she be stricken by bad dreams the rest of her life? Her eyes fell on Ron who had seen the horrors firsthand. Would he ever sleep again?

"She escaped," Kim said to quiet her fears. "Shego fought and she escaped."

"Barely," Barkin said.

"She almost died, KP."

On the armchair of the couch, Rufus looked over Shego's tossing form with great concern.

"But she didn't. She survived and carried Drakken with her all the way here."

Both men glanced at her with distressed eyes. Kim was oblivious to this. She refused to believe that her longtime rival and equal could be so easily rattled. Aside from her mother, Shego was the strongest woman Kim knew and could not be taken down so easily. "She'll wake up. You'll see."

"Possible,"

"I know what I'm talking about, Mr. B. I know Shego better than any of you."

"What about Drakken?" Ron asked and turned his attention to the man on the other couch. His breathing was somewhat sporadic for his injuries were far greater than his companion's. "Will he make it?"

"He needs a hospital," Barkin reminded them. "That wound in his chest was deep. A grown man can lose two liters of blood before he dies. From the looks of him when he first arrived he'd been bleeding long before then."

"Then he might not live," Ron concluded.

"He will _live_. Stop being so defeatist, both of you!"

But Ron, who had seen the tentacles drag Junior to his death, could find no reason to be optimistic. Mr. Barkin, who had observed how people fared when faced with situations beyond their control, could only shake his head. Kim wanted to be in control. She was used to fixing things all on her own. Well here was one sitch that even the great Possible would not be able to deal with just a flick of her hair.

"This is so not the drama. They'll pull through this and so will we. Now can we put our heads together and figure out a way to do just that?" Kim heard Shego begin her mantra again, going on and on about the mist. She knelt by her rival's side and looked at her pale-green face. "You hear me, Shego? This is Kim. I want you to fight it. I need your help to save these people. You have to tell me what you saw in the mist. You have to tell me how to fight it."

"There's...something...in...the...mist."

"What is it, Shego? What did you see in the mist?"

Shego's mouth curled as if to formulate an answer but nothing forward. She returned to her mantra, her head beading with sweat yet again. "...thing...in...the m-mist...something...in the...mist..."

Groaning, Kim stood up. "Our one lead and she can't talk to us."

"I can." Ron spoke up. "You want to know what's in the mist, KP? I'll tell you." He faced her directly. "Monsters." His tone hardened at the mention of that word. For a moment he was back there at the loading dock. He was facing the mist with the door wide open, the tentacles streaming in. They already ate Junior and were now after him. Ron was helpless as the tentacles coiled around him, squeezing him, dragging him silently back to the mist. In his mind Ron knew that didn't happen, but he felt like it did. He felt as helpless as Junior must have while his friends watched him taken away. A part of him wished it was he who had been taken. At least then he wouldn't have to feel this guilty.

"Ron...please." Kim empathized with her boyfriend's plight, but the last thing she needed was him throwing fuel onto the fire, as it were. The mood was grim enough without him darkening it further. Taking his hands in hers, she told him, "I need you with me on this. We need to stay positive."

"I know. And I'm _positive_ this is all going to get a lot worse."

Before she knew it, Ron pulled her into a hug. He held her close, taking solace in the bodily contact. "Kim, I'm always with you. You know that."

Hearing that made Kim smile and she put her arms around him too.

"But it will get worse."

She pulled back until she could look into his eyes.

"You didn't see it. I did. It could have been one thing or a thousand, but something tells me those tentacles will be the least of our worries."

**KP**

Bonnie could not believe she had been reduced to servant wench. Justine had her go on a food run while she "studied" the manta ray monster in the privacy of the restroom. The girl hadn't set one foot outside the room since they'd dragged it in and the girl was starting to smell like cheap hand shampoo bleached toilet. Not that that personal hygiene seemed to matter much to the young prodigy. Brain heads like her could spend hours alone in a hot room with no ventilation and without showering in pursuit of science.

It was just another excuse to hate nerds, Bonnie surmised. Carrying a tray of food in her hands, she realized that for all her criticism of Justine Flanner and her ilk, here she was bringing her food like an obedient maid. Much as she hated to admit it even to herself, Justine was calling the shots. This was her plan to bring down Kim Possible, her idea to sully the name of the most famous resident of Middleton by proving her father's connection to the disaster outside. Bonnie was smart enough to realize that Justine had used her rivalry against Kim to entice her into joining in an alliance. Normally, Bonnie would have jumped at the chance to ruin her red-headed foe, but each step had her rethinking her whole scenario. Suppose if they did succeed and she and Justine managed to prove that James Possible was responsible for the mist? The people would turn on Kim. She'd be ruined. No one would ever trust her again.

So what then? What happens after the fall of Kim Possible? Who takes charge? Who holds the frightened residents of Smarty Mart together until help arrives? Bonnie? No. For all her love at being the center of attention, Bonnie Rockwaller did not like being responsible for others. She looked out for number one, herself. So who would step in and take up the mantle of leadership?

Justine Flanner?

The idea of that devious but super smart blonde calling the shots almost made Bonnie lose her balance and drop the tray. Just a few short feet from the restroom with the OUT OF ORDER sign in front of it and she came this close to losing it. What is it about Justine that rattled her so much? She wasn't beautiful or popular, barely a blip on the Food Chain and Bonnie wasn't sure she had any friends. Yet Justine had reeled her in like she was a fish, hook, line and sinker. She had manipulated Bonnie in a way that would have made her older sisters proud. She had evidence that could destroy Kim and the means to use it. She was dark. She was smart. She was ambitious.

She was dangerous.

_And here I am at the right hand of the Devil._

"Pull yourself together, Bonnie," she said as she used her rump to push open the door and step inside. She found Justine had placed the creature's body on a series of paper towels she'd laid out earlier to keep the blood from spreading all over the floor. She looked up when Bonnie entered the room.

"About time." She stood up, reaching for a plate of food on Bonnie's tray. "What took you so long?"

"It's called a line. There are like a hundred people here and I had to wait my turn."

"Really?" Justine sat herself on the sink counter. "I was beginning to think you chickened out and told Kim everything."

"I don't chicken out, Justine. _Ever._" The mere notion sent Bonnie's ire skyrocketing.

"That's good to know. I'd hate to think I had partnered up with a loser."

"You'd better watch yourself, Flanner!"

"Resorting to last names now? Oh, Bonnie. I thought we were friends."

"You wish."

That brought a smile to the sinister blonde's face. "I wish for many things. Your friendship is not one of them." She held up a hand to silence the brunette before she could retort. "But we agreed to be partners in this endevour. We share a common foe and a common interest. While that doesn't make us friends it does make us allies and that means we must look out for one another."

"Hello! I brought you food!"

"Thank you...partner."

Bonnie acted as if Justine had just insulted her.

"Sit down and eat. You'll need your strength for the coming hours."

Walking around the monster's corpse had Bonnie gagging. "How can you eat with that thing here?"

"There's always a chance that someone, namely an employee who's too curious for his own good, might come in here regardless of the sign. If that happens, I want to be here to make sure he doesn't go blabbering about it to the wrong people." Justine dipped her fork into the steak. While she wasn't particular to meats, the girl was starving. Making schemes was tiring work.

Bonnie sat down on the other end of the counter. "By wrong people, you mean Kim."

"Or one of her confidants."

"Her what?"

Justine smiled. "Her friends." Again, Justine's greater grasp of the big picture was proof why she was in charge of this operation and not the Queen of Mean. "Ron or Josh, for example."

"Josh? You mean Josh Mankey?" Bonnie's eyes betrayed her shock. "He's here?"

"And Tara Strong as well."

"Tara?" Bonnie almost dropped her plate. "What are they doing here?"

Justine shrugged. "Beats me."

_Don't tempt me._

"I saw them not that long ago, before I caught you following me back into the storage room. They didn't look happy."

Bonnie could not believe this. What would Josh and Tara being doing at Smarty Mart? Tara was part of the in-crowd so she knew this place was no-go zone. Then again, Bonnie was here, but those were extenuating circumstances. But Josh Mankey...? What's his deal?

"I'm going to talk to her." She put her plate back on the tray and got up.

"Tara?"

"No, Monique. Of course, Tara!" Bonnie was halfway to the door when Justine stopped her.

"But I'm going to need your help dissecting the creature." For the first time, something that sounded like concern seeped into Justine's voice. "I can't do it alone."

"Why not?" Bonnie looked over at her, smiling. "You scared it's going to wake up and eat you?"

"Of course not."

"I've done my manual labor for the day." Bonnie walked toward the door. "Besides, I can use a little gossip after what I've been through." She touched the door and opened it up. "You can just..." A scream cut her off in mid sentence and Bonnie visibly jerked back into the room. She looked at Justine who had just got up. "Did you hear that?"

But Justine was already running up to her, opening the door. More screams followed, men, women, children, and something else. Something not human.


	7. A Stressful Situation

**Darev: **Well how do you like that? Not so long a time since the last update, huh? Well Halloween is coming and if you recall I updated a great deal during this wonderful month because I was in the spirit. Now that it's come again I hope I can post several chapters back to back and possibly finish this story by this year. It's already becoming much bigger than I had anticipated but I can't remember when I've written so much. It helps that I recently had the pleasure of reading Stephen King's fantastic novella "The Mist" from his Skeleton Key anthology. It's a great read and I highly recommend it.

As for this installment, be prepared for some action. I know the last two have been slow but that's because they have been building up to this. New monsters show up and the patrons of Smarty Mart get their first taste of what Ron and Shego were spouting about earlier. Things also don't go so well for a regular character. Is someone about to die?

Thank you Daydreamer, Sonic, tragic guy, cajunbear (welcome back, man), and the mysterious "guest" for your reviews.

**KP**

"Something...in...the mist..." Shego kept saying those same words over and over again. Mr. Barkin was right; whatever she saw in the mist would stick with her until the end of her days. One wondered if Shego would ever be the same woman again, the same cynical, witty, and all around badass when she woke up from her nightmare.

IF she woke up.

_Don't think like that, _Kim was thinking in her head. She had argued against the possibility of losing with both Barkin and Ron, the latter being a total wreck ever since the loading dock incident, and for the first time in her life, for the first time in all the battles and all the fights and all the close-calls, Kim Possible felt truly alone. Ron wasn't with her anymore, at least not fully. His mind was still trapped back there, in the loading dock, much in the way Shego's mind was trapped in the mist. He was with her only in person, but his spirit was trying to pull Junior back from the grip of the alien tentacle that dragged him to his death. Something told her that as much as he tried, Ron was still losing. He had failed to save Junior and that ravaged him in a way no villain's diabolical scheme ever could.

She tried to put Barkin's words out of her head, about not being able to save everyone and to accept the possibility of defeat. It went against her very nature to accept loss. The closest she had come to giving up was when Dr. Drakken had fooled her using the Eric synthodrone, tying her up in the storage room of Bueno Nacho headquarters while he and Shego sent their Li'l Diablo army to take over the world. She was ready to give up, to throw it all away, but Ron pulled her back from the darkness. Ron saved her from herself.

Looking at him now, his head slumped against the wall where he sat next to the couch where an unconscious Drakken now slept, she wondered if she could do the same. The Eric synthodrone had merely wounded her pride. The loss of Junior had destroyed Ron's confidence. Even Rufus, loyal and ever-vigilant Rufus, seemed unable to break through the proverbial cloud around his friend's heart. The mole rat sat next to Ron in much the same posture, though he would look up now and then as if expecting Ron, the old Ron, to come back to him.

Shego stirred again. Kim half-expected her arch-enemy to wake up, to open her eyes and glance at her before shooting a snarky comment her way. Something along the lines of "Well you're not exactly my Prince Charming, but I'll take what I can get," sounded about right. Kim smiled despite her surroundings. Funny how her mortal enemy, lying near death in front of her, was the first person to make her genuinely smile for the first time in a long time.

"Something...in...the mist..."

Her smile disappeared and Kim sighed. Turning away from Shego, she walked into the manager's office where Mr. Barkin was looking out the window, his hands behind him like a general observing the behavior of his troops. "Possible," he said without turning back. The man was veritable wall, his form taking up almost whole window. He looked so strong then, like a rock or a living statue. It gave Kim hope.

"Hey, Mr. B. She joined him by the window.

"How's Stoppable?"

"No change."

"Have you spoken anymore?"

"He won't listen to me. I think...I think he's lost his nerve."

"Happens to the best of us."

She turned on him. "I need Ron. We all do. He'll pull through this, you'll see."

"I hope you're right." He said nothing more and just stared out the window. Kim followed his gaze to the aisles of Smarty Mart, watching the people, those lucky (or unlucky depending on your point of view) enough to be trapped inside the store when the mist came milling about. Most were eating which was a good thing. People needed to keep their strength up and a full belly was a good way to brighten the mood. No one wanted to be afraid and starving at the same time. A few were turning in for the night, their first night, in the mist. Kim watched parents tuck their kids in while lovers embraced one another. Had they more privacy they might do more than embrace, Kim thought with a blush on her face. People would do anything to forget where they were. A few kids had even built a makeshift fort using discarded boxes and rolled in a few sleeping mats as if they were out camping.

"It won't last," Barkin said after a while.

"Huh?"

"This moment of peace - it will not last."

"People have to enjoy it while they can."

"Are you?"

She looked at him. He finally offered her the decency of looking back. "Are you enjoying this moment? Or are you going to spend it all worrying about things you cannot change?"

"What are you...?"

"Shego won't be waking anytime soon and I won't even consider that mad scientist fellow. Stoppable is in the next room. He's a wreck and here you are worrying about everyone and everything but yourself. You'll put yourself in an early grave at this rate."

"What would you have me do? Have sex?"

"Now you're talking."

Kim's skin turned from white to red in the blink of an eye. "Mr. Barkin!"

"No better way to kill time. And I hear it tuckers you out enough that you might even get a good night's sleep." A hint of a smile crept on his serious face as he turned to leave the room. "Might take your mind off of what's going on as well. You'll be well-rested and ready to face the day tomorrow." He looked around. "I hear no one ever comes up here. And the door lock works." He glanced at her one last time, "Good night, Possible," and left the room.

Kim was still fighting down the blush on her face, a look of disbelief all over her. How could Mr. Barkin tell her something like that? How could he even think it? Sex at a time like this? It just doesn't happen...does it? And for him to be so nonchalant about it, like he had mentioned the weather and nothing at all was disturbing. He was her teacher. There were certain restrictions that pertained to that relationship. She didn't even talk to her own mother about that stuff (nevermind dad) and had only gossiped about it with Monique and the girls in the cheer squad. Come to think of it, the one person he never discussed it with was the one person she considered sharing that intimate experience with for a long time.

Her loins were almost pulling her into the other room.

"Get a hold of yourself, Kim!" She was still blushing, still trembling with embarrassment, and had to count to ten before she gathered the courage to leave the room.

"Everything okay?" Ron asked when he noticed her walking funny.

"Everything's fine. Mr. B's just a strange guy is all."

"I hear that." His voice was without mirth and it forced Kim to regard him in the light. "So what's the plan?"

"Plan? What plan?"

"What do we do now? Felix's transmitter is a bust, which means we're pretty much stuck here until morning."

"That about sums it up," Kim said, hoping her blush had died down.

"So what do we do until then?"

"I don't know!" He blurted out. Ron blinked at her in astonishment. He didn't expect her to explode like that and even Rufus glanced at her awkwardly. Covering her mouth, Kim looked away, hoping to find something, anything to take her mind away. _Need a moment? Why wait? Grab a Snickers!_

"We need to keep an eye on Shego and Drakken."

"It's not like they're going anywhere."

"They might wake up and they'll want to know where they are."

"You heard what Barkin said about Drakken. The guy's not waking up anytime soon."

"We can't leave them alone."

"Why not?"

"Because we just _can't_, Ron!" She cried at him, fists trembling. "We don't abandon people! It's not what we do."

Ron stood up, slowly. "KP, no one said anything about abandoning anyone. Drakken and Shego are in the safest place in the store. No one will bother them."

"Well...good!" She turned away from him. "Let's keep it that way."

"Kim?" Ron took one step towards her. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?"

Ron looked from her to the entrance and back. "Did Mr. B say something to you?"

"I just have a lot on my mind right now."

"You've had a lot on your mind since the beginning. This is different. Kim, tell me."

"I don't...I feel...dammit, Ron. Why can't you just let it go?" She rubbed her head after feeling an ache coming along. "I'm just so stressed right now. I don't know what to think or what to do. I can't stand not doing anything."

"But we are doing something?"

She turned on him. "What? Standing around, watching our number one enemies die in front of us? How's that doing anything?"

"But you just said we need to watch them. If doing that bothers you so much then why stay here?"

"Because I need something to do. _Anything_!"

"Then I'll stay here while you..."

"No," Kim cut him off. "You can't stay here. Not by yourself."

"Why?"

"Because," Kim stopped herself when she realized she had nothing to say to that.

Ron's eyes narrowed. "Because you think I'll fall apart if you're not around?"

"I didn't say that."

"But you thought it. I'm not some charity case, Kim. I've dealt with problems before. I can handle it."

"Can you?" She knew what she said. She knew what it sounded like. She didn't care. "Can you handle it, Ron? Because I don't think you have been handling it."

"What do you mean?"

"You've turned off. I've never seen you this out of it before. I can't hold your hand and look out for everyone else at the same time."

"I don't need you to hold my hand."

"That's new! I've always had to look out for you. I leave you alone for one time and this is what happens."

"Are you kidding me?"

Rufus winced, hearing their voices rise with each sentence. He knew an argument was coming along and if he had ears he'd be covering them right now.

"I watched someone die, Kim! I watched the tentacles rip pieces off of him and chew him up before dragging him into the mist. You go through something like that and you're not going to be alright."

"Okay! You lost Junior. It's sad but you have to get over it."

"Get over it? GET OVER IT?" Ron was almost smoking at the nostrils. "How dare you? Who do you think you are?" He stepped towards her. "Kim Possible! The Girl Who can do Anything! You think you could have saved him? You think you could have done better? You have no idea what I faced. You don't know what I've seen. There wasn't a damn thing you could have done to save Junior."

"I would have tried."

"I did try! I did everything I could. But I guess that doesn't mean much to Ms. Perfect."

"Don't go there, Ron?"

"Why not? Miss I Never Makes a Mistake think she's all high and mighty! You always think you're better than everyone else. I've always been the sidekick, your own private joke. Well no more, Kim! I'm tired of always being compared to you?"

"Who compares you to me?"

"Everyone!"

"You mean yourself."

"I mean _everyone!_" Ron was livid. He was only inches from Kim now. "I tried to save Junior. I screwed up! I'm not perfect like you, okay, so get off my ass!"

"I'm not on your ass!"

"Then stop acting like you're better than me."

"I don't."

"Yes you do!"

"Why don't you stop feeling sorry for yourself and get your head on straight? That is if you can fit that enlarged head onto those skinny shoulders."

"Watch it, KP!"

"Or what? You never could hit a girl, Ron."

"I'll make an exception this time."

"Go ahead. I dare you!"

"I'll do it!"

"Go on!"

"I'll..." Ron tried to finish that sentence, but it was cut off by the press of Kim's lips on his own. Rufus watch slack-jawed as they kissed. He resisted at first but eventually Ron returned the kiss, wrapping his arms around her back and pulling her in close. Kim did likewise, pulling him into an embrace that stole both their breaths away. After what seemed like an eternity of spit-swapping, they released themselves and stepped back. "What...the hell...was that?" Ron asked after he caught his breath.

"I don't know." Kim brushed aside her hair. "I think it was stress."

"I'll say." Ron stumbled back to the couch and almost fell on a sleeping Drakken. He corrected himself. "Kim, I think we're losing our minds here."

"I'm sorry."

"What?"

"For what I said." She looked at him, green eyes pleading. "I'm so sorry, Ron." She rushed to him and planted another kiss on his lips. "I'm sorry." She kissed him again. Kim pressed herself against him, her body molding into his. _What am I doing?_ Her mind raced with excuses to condone her behavior. True she loved Ron, and yes she thought about doing _it_ for a long time now. She wanted their first time to be special, at a place of their own choosing. The tree house, perhaps, or maybe one of their rooms. It had been on her mind for some time now and she knew that Ron, for all his shyness and reserved behavior, had been thinking about it as well.

This felt forced somehow, like they were on the clock and had to get it over with as soon as possible for time ran out. Kim wanted it, but this didn't feel right. Oh, she felt something. Everything beneath the belt grew hot and she could feet the front of her shirt getting tighter. Her tongue wormed its way to his mouth, asking permission to enter. _What am I doing?_

Ron's expression said the same thing when he pushed back at arm's length. He was breathing very hard and his face flushed with blood. No doubt blood was rushing to other parts of his body as well and he suddenly seemed the need to hunch over as if in pain. He looked at her, eyes hungry, but disillusioned as well. "No."

"No?"

"Not here."

Then it hit her. Rufus was in the room, not to mention Drakken and Shego. She looked at the naked mole rat who was still gawking at them, his chin almost to the ground. "Right." She grabbed his hand. "The manager's office. Barkin said,"

"No." Ron shook his head.

"What do you mean no?"

"I can't do this. Not now."

"Why not?" She looked genuinely confused, scared, and a bit angry. Her body was burning up now. What man could resist a girl in heat? "Ron?"

"KP, I don't know what's gotten into you. Maybe you're just horny, or maybe you're trying to make me feel better...but I can't do this with you, not right now."

"Then when?" She asked as if it were the most bizarre question she ever asked.

"I don't know." He moved away from her.

"Ron?"

"I'm sorry, Kim." He was still catching his breath, the bulge in his pants seemingly as confused as Kim was at that moment. "It's not that I don't want to...but I can't. I just can't."

"Why the hell not?" Kim was angry, she stomped her foot. "We both need this, Ron!"

"We?" He looked at her. "Or you?"

She stopped her tantrum.

"It's not just about you, KP. It's more than just stress. It's more than losing Junior."

"Then what is it?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know or you don't want to talk about it?"

"Both."

Kim sighed. "Ron..."

Someone came through the door at that moment, startling both Kim and Ron. "Kim! There's something you have to see!" Ned's nasally voice was high-pitched, like someone had laid a match under his butt.

"Ned, this really isn't the time."

"I'm serious! There's something outside. Bugs. A whole lot of them!"

Kim and Ron exchanged alerted looks before following Ned out the room. Rufus picked up his jaw off the floor, shaking his head at the absurdity of human mating habits before giving chase.

**KP**

Monique stared, awed, at the scene before her. A veritable swarm of large dragonfly-like insects had come to Smarty Mart. A mist in their own right, the swarm came in dozens, then in scores, until hundreds of them blanketed the glass window at the front of the store. There were so many at first that it became difficult to make any of them out and Monique had stopped counting after thirty. A strange noise filled the air, a sound like a sputtering motor, as the outside resonated with the hum of a thousand pairs of wings.

"We're going to need a whole lot or Raid," she said to no one in particular. Every now and then a _thud_ would sound out whenever a bug would slam against the window. Monique jumped, as did everyone else, for they feared the glass would break. It was a genuine concern given the amount of bugs out there and some even suggested reinforcing their barricade, building it all the way up should the pressure become too much for the glass.

Monique had to agree. Oscar had taken the leadership initiative at that point, giving orders and making sure everyone stayed away from the windows just in case they did break. He also had several people bring out brooms and distributed lighter fluid in a score of buckets. If any of the bugs got in, he reasoned, they could dip the brooms in the buckets and light them up, creating a torch defense system. Monique was impressed with the man's fast thinking and she joined the ranks of the torch-bearers, a broom squeezed tightly in her worried hands. She noticed with some dismay that Vinnie and Big Mike were also holding mops. No doubt having something of a weapon on hand made the two frightened boys feel safe and secure. As far as she was concerned, putting anything in their unreliable hands made them as much a threat to the people as the bugs. She kept a safe distance.

"There are so many of them," she heard Tara say. Josh had been aiding Oscar in setting up flood lamps throughout the store should the power go out. He seemed to know his way around pretty well, Monique realized, and he and Oscar had a developed report with one another. Monique was suspicious, wondering what those two had in common, when she found Tara standing beside her with her arms around her. "I hate bugs."

Monique touched her arm. "It's okay, Tara. We'll be fine as long as we stay in here."

"What if they get in?"

"You can't think like that."

"Monique," Tara looked at her. "Where's Kim?"

"I think she's up at the manager's office. Why?"

"I just wish she was here. I'm scared."

The ebon girl motioned over Tara's shoulder. "There's Josh. Why don't you help him out?"

But Tara shook her head. "I don't really want to."

That set off alarms in Monique's head. Tara and Josh were tight back in school. One couldn't find one without the other. You would think Tara would be in the arms of her lover in times of crisis. Instead she seemed adamant about keeping away. Far away. She noticed Josh noticing her noticing Tara and looked away, saddened.

"Tara, is there something going on between you and Josh?"

"No."

"And is that the problem?"

"No."

"You're a lousy liar, Tara."

She regarded Monique with a cold stare. "Look, I've already gotten the pep talk from Kim and I don't need it from you. I wish you two would just mind your own business!"

"T.I.E!"

Tara blinked at her. "Tie?"

"Take It Easy. I'm only trying to help."

"I don't need help."

"Everyone needs help sometimes."

"Well my last name isn't everyone. It's Strong. Tara Strong. I can look after myself." She raised her chin and walked away.

"Well excuse me." Monique mimicked her gesture and turned back to the window. The glass was covered in writing, kicking, and fluttering bug parts. She saw Felix rolling down the aisle and waved him over. "What's up, Felix?"

"Nothing much. You?"

She shrugged her shoulders.

"Have you seen Kim or Ron? There's something I wanted to run by them but I can't seem to find either of them."

Monique was about to tell her what she told Tara when someone cried out. "Holy shit!" She looked up, Felix almost falling out of his seat to turn around, when something large and fast smashed into the window. The swarm parted as a creature with a six-foot wing span picked one of the insects off the glass with its beak and flew away. A second bird-thing struck, this time to their left, and several people screamed as another bug was carried away in hungry jaws, the glass cracking from where the impact had been.

"Oscar!" Monique called. The portly man ran up to the front where a scene of pure pandemonium awaited him.

"My God."

"There's another one!" A man in the crowd screamed. More of the large, leathery birds appeared, attacking the swarm, picking them off one by one, before disappearing into the mist. Most were quite nimble in their technique, diving and snapping off a bug with hardly a sound, but some were slamming into the windows. A particularly bird devoured its kill right where it caught it, shaking the window. Cracks began to web out from wherever a puncture was made. Soon chips began to fall.

"Everyone get back!" Oscar yelled. "Josh, turn on all the floodlights!" Josh moved to carry out his orders. "Back! Everyone back!"

A terrifying sound filled the room - glass being shattered. One of the birds had missed its intended target, but in the flurry had poked a large hole in the window. It went after the elusive insect and left a gap big enough for one of the dragonflies to steal in. It was followed by another, and then another. People panicked and ran.

"It's inside! Kill it!" A terrified woman wailed as she ran by Monique.

"With pleasure." Using the mop as a bat, Monique aimed at the closest dragonfly and swung with all her might. The pole struck the bug in mid-flight and it crashed to the ground, its wings bent but still very much alive. Realizing the amount of energy it would take to kill the bug with her flimsy mop, Monique raised her foot as high as she could and stomped downward. "Shit!" She slipped as her shoe crunched the chitin shell of the insect, splattering the insides within. Green and black goo covered the floor and Monique almost fell. Fortunately Felix was there. He rolled up to catch her and she fell flat on his lap, exuding a grunt from the boy.

"Thanks, Felix."

"Anytime."

"What's going on?" Ned appeared with Kim and Ron in tow. He noticed the chaos around him but was focused squarely on the scene in front of him; that of Monique sitting on his friend's lap, smiling.

"Kim!" Monique shot up, unaware of Ned's hurt expression. "The bugs are inside!"

"What bugs?" Kim said. She ducked as a dragonfly buzzed her head, almost knocking her over. "Nevermind." She got up. "Ron, get some people together and cover those breeches. Monique, have you seen Mr. Barkin?"

"Can't say I have."

"Felix?"

The boy shook his head.

"Damn!"

"I'll help Ron." Felix followed Ron, oblivious to the hurtful stare of Ned. "Let's go, Ned," he said as he passed by. Ned glanced at Monique, already moving off with Kim in the direction of the biggest ruckus, shaking his head.

**KP**

Mr. Barkin was in the exotic pets' wing of the store when the invasion happened. Luckily they had sold all the big animals off, such as the gorillas and the lions, meaning that most of the animals left in Smarty Mart were of the behind a glass cage variety. He watched one in particular, a new species of arachnid found in the jungle of the Amazon, its design a mixture of red stripes and black spots. The Amazonian Mamba, it was called, after one of the most poisonous snakes in the world. It was a beautiful creature, one that reminded Steve of all the exotic animals he'd seen in his travels. He found himself becoming very nostalgic for the old days lately. Maybe it was being around Kim and Ron that reminded him of what he used to do. Steven Barkin, once a teen hero in his own right and an ex-member of Team Impossible (the irony wasn't lost on him there), was now playing den mother to the next generation.

"Some things are just meant to be," he said to himself. The screaming caught up to him then. He was walking past the spider monkeys' cage when he heard it. There was a curse and someone shouted in a language other than English. He sprang to the commotion, almost knocking over Josh as he did so. "Dammit, Mankey! What the hell is going on?"

"Bugs. Big ones."

"Slow down, son."

But Josh was ecstatic. "Giant bugs. They're in the store. They're being attacked by birds and now they're coming inside."

"You mean the birds are eating the bugs?"

"Big birds!" Josh exclaimed. "Oscar wants me to turn on all the floodlights."

"Why?" Steve ran after Josh as he activated one of the large lamps.

"I don't know. Josh ran to the next light with Steve behind him. "Why don't you ask him?"

"We're under attack and we don't understand the enemy. To act rashly could lead us to disaster."

"I'm only following orders," Josh spat back.

There was a time when Steven would have said the same thing. How many mistakes had he made, how many friends and innocents lost, all because he did what he was told without question? Some orders were made to be questioned. He kept up with Josh. "I'll take the west wing and you the east. Then we meet back here and regroup with the others, understood?"

Josh nodded and moved off in the other direction. Steven watched him go, nodded and went the other way.

**KP**

Ron saw it before the guy ever what hit him. He wanted to scream, tried to, but deep now he knew it was too late. Another bug had entered the store via one of the holes left behind by one of the birds. A man had tried to whack it with his broom but missed it entirely, the bug slamming him in the head as it flew by. The man tripped and fell into the stack of dog food, knocking it over. He was almost knocked unconscious by the falling stack and struggled to his knees. Ron saw this and went to help him.

But he was too late.

A bird chasing the dragonfly saw where it went and forced its way through the gap. It was amazingly agile and managed to get in without making the hole bigger than it already was. Standing on the stacked bags, Ron got his first look at it. It reminded him of a those pterodactyls dinosaurs he saw in the museum as a kid. While much smaller, its wing span was easily his height and Ron noticed that the dactyl had not one, but two pairs of leathery, green wings with a membrane-like surface. Its elongated head was able to turn 360 degrees, giving it a perfect view of its surroundings. A long, muscular neck attacked it to a lithe body was featureless, no feathers or fur, but pure blue-gray muscle. The hairless dactyl regarded Ron once, turned to chase after the bug, and then noticed much easier prey beneath it.

Yellow eyes shining, the dactyl leaped onto the dazed man, its sharp talons ripping into his back like it was dough. Gouges of blood appeared on his white shirt and he struggled and screamed. Then the dactyl lowered its head. It sharp beak opened wide to reveal rows of thin but razor-sharp teeth that clamped down on the man's exposed neck. The unfortunate man's neck geysered in a fountain of blood as the teeth found punctured veins and capillaries. He spasmed and writhed beneath the carnivorous creature which only made it go into a frenzy. Its taloned feet went to work, cutting and slicing the man's flesh, tearing chunks of him as easily as the tentacles did Junior. It was eating him alive!

Watching the man struggle, seeing the blood and the way the creature easily rendered the man into meat, made Ron snap. He screamed and charged the dactyl, still feeding on the dying man. Seeing Ron, the dactyl squawked in defiance as if it meant to fight him for its kill, but then it saw that he wasn't alone, Felix and Ned right behind him, and didn't like its chances. The dactyl took flight, leaving man in a pool of his own blood. Ron swiped at the dactyl with his bare hand, missing it by an inch, before it flew off. "Come back here, you bastard!"

"Ron!" Felix winced as he noticed the dying man. "He's bleeding!"

Ignoring Felix and the man, Ron picked up a shard of glass that had been broken off the window and gave chase.

"Ron!" He was gone, oblivious to Felix's cries. "He's..." Felix stopped when he noticed the man had stopped writhing, his cries of pain gurgled into nothingness. Ned joined him just then, his eyes fixated in horror.

"It...killed him."

"We've got to close up this gap before any more of those things gets in." Felix's words turned prophetic as another dactyl, seeing the opening, came in on a reckless course for food. "Ned!" Felix cried as the creature narrowed in on him, thinking him easy prey. "Ned!" Felix yelled again and turned to his friend. "Help!"

But Ned was already gone, running the other way.

**KP**

It took Kim only an instant to realize just how bad things were. People ran in every direction, any semblance of a coordinated defense lost the moment the glass shattered. It should have come as no surprise. These were people, not soldiers or government agents. Even their greater numbers proved little comfort in the face of potentially having to face those bugs one on one. As if the fact that they weren't huge was bad enough, the bugs had deadly stingers protruding from behind. One of them hovered in the air and waved the stinger around like he was a mugger wielding a knife, threatening. It was enough to send the nearest bunch of people scrambling for cover.

"Burn them!" Monique screamed so loudly beside Kim that she almost jumped. "Light the mops!"

It was then she noticed the buckets lining the back of the aisles. One of the patrons had slipped and kicked a bucket over, spilling its contents on the floor at Kim's feet. It was then she smelled the lighter fluid and realized what Monique had meant. "Give me that!" She grabbed Monique's mop and dipped the end onto the puddle below her. "Does anyone have a lighter?" She asked aloud. When no one responded she spun into action, spinning the mop like a fighting staff before bringing it down on the back of a bug that got too close to a frightened woman. The bug was stunned but managed to put some distance between them. Kim's next strike missed entirely and it flew away.

"Kim!" Monique called after her. "Be careful! You're throwing lighter fluid everywhere!"

True Kim's action had created a fire hazard in the vicinity of the fallen bucket, and she realized with some embarrassment that she managed to spray some of the oil on Monique as well. "Sorry. You'd better change."

"Oh my god!" Someone screamed, the same woman who Kim had saved, as she turned and pointed. "Look!"

Kim did look. Monique did too. At the front of a store another bug had just entered through the gap and on its tale was a much larger winged menace: a fierce pterodactyl-looking bird of prey that screeched loudly as it chased the insect. The dactyl opened its beak, revealing its rows of teeth, before they clamped down on the fleeing dragonfly. So fast was its flight pattern that it moved like a rocket, practically blowing the women off their feet as it flew by.

"Now we've got dinosaurs too!" Kim said in awestruck disbelief. "This is crazy!"

"It's a crazy world, girlfriend."

"Will someone light this damn mop?!" Kim cried over the screams of the people as they had something new to worry about. _My kingdom for a match_, Kim thought in her head. The dactyl flew off towards the back of the store. Not wanting to lose it, and realizing that she was getting no help from others, Kim went after it. "Come on, Monique!"

At least the dactyl appeared confused which is why they were able to keep up with it. It was looking for its primary food source, the dragonflies, and with so many distractions, not the least of which was those insanely bright lamps set around the interior of the store, it didn't seem to know just which way to go. It crashed into a pile of stacked cans before leaping onto shelf, squawking something fierce. Agitated, with no sign of bugs nearby, the dactyl reared back its long head and let out an ear-piercing screech. It launched itself at one of the floodlight lamps and tore it down, the thing sending sparks everywhere.

"What's wrong with it?" Monique asked as she and Kim observed from a distance.

The sparks frightened the dactyl and it hoped away, right into the path of a middle-aged woman who was running from a bug that had zeroed in on her. She didn't see the dactyl, but it saw her. Actually, it saw the morsel chasing after her and lunged at the bug. The woman screamed as the dactyl bored into her, its claws raking her face. Blood streamed down the woman's face and it was lucky that the alien bird wasn't interested in eating her; otherwise she would have been dead before she hit the floor. It used the woman as a springboard and lunged at the bug. The dragonfly disappeared into the maw of the ravenous avian and it was chewed on voraciously.

"Help her, Monique." Kim charged. Now that the bird was busy eating and was on the ground, Kim figured there was no better chance to bring it down. While Monique pulled the bleeding woman out of the way, Kim jumped onto the nearest shelf and worked her way up. When she was just above the dactyl she considered her angle before leaping off. With gravity to her advantage, Kim brought the full force of her strike right down on the dactyl's exposed back, a hit that would have crippled it. The creature howled and spit out chunks of devoured insect onto the floor. It staggered a bit but did not fall and gave Kim a look that appeared more confused than hurt. Whatever it was made out was of sterner stuff than she realized and it attacked her as if she had suddenly grown a pair of wings and a thorax.

Even on the ground the dactyl was surprisingly quick and Kim found herself pinned against the shelf, raising the mop in front of her as the creature's beak snatched onto it. She was more worried about the feet which raked at her legs and stomach. If even one of those things scored a direct hit, Kim had no doubt that she'd be disemboweled. She tried to keep it back, feeling the wood splinter under the immense biting power of that beak. Pinned as she was Kim could hardly move, could hardly avoid those tearing raptor-like talons. _It's going to kill me..._

A figure came barreling down the aisle, holding the stand-end of the lamp which the dactyl had bowled over, ramming it into the dactyl and saving Kim's life. Monique put her full force behind that charge and pushed it well off her friend before stopping to consider her next move. The lamp had been heavy and she had to build quite a bit of momentum to get herself running. Right now the base was on the floor and so was the dactyl.

"Thanks, Monique." Kim came up next to her. "You saved my life."

"Anytime. But what about that thing?" She indicated the dactyl which was already getting up, barely phased by the surprise bum rush.

"It's pretty tough. I don't think I can kill it with this thing." Kim gripped the mop, which was splintered in the middle. The dactyl had almost bitten it in half. Kim shuddered to think what would have happened to her if the creature successfully broke through her defense. "We need fire."

Monique looked around and saw another flood lamp. "You still got that thing covered in oil?"

"The mop? Yeah."

"Then follow me." Monique pulled Kim along toward the lamp. The dactyl screeched and took to the air, gaining altitude on its powerful double-wing set. Monique pushed the flood lamp over, breaking it on the floor. Sparks flew out in every direction. "Light it up!" She told Kim. "Quickly!"

Catching on to Monique's risky - albeit brilliant - plan, Kim lowered the mop's bristled to the sparks and watched them catch fire. She heard Monique scream as the dactyl came at them from behind, eager to get at the girl who had disturbed its feeding time. Kim turned around at that moment, the mop raised like a glowing spear. "Eat this!" She raised the torch-end right into the creature's face. It howled again, this time in fear, and tried to stop its momentum. Kim managed to catch one of its wings on fire, forcing it to crash land onto a rack of discounted jackets.

Kim's eyes lit up. "Shit!" It was rare when she cursed, but this was the perfect time for it. The jackets went up like kindling and fire spreads quickly. The entire rack was on fire and it spread down to the next one, and the one after that.

Kim threw the mop like a spear right at the dactyl, catching it in the face. It was blinded by the attack and fell down writhing. The dactyl whined as the pain became too much for it. Kim and Monique ran around the next aisle to avoid the flames. "Now what do we do?" Monique said. "I don't see any fire extinguishers around. Do you?"

When Kim didn't answer her, she asked her the same question. "Kim?" Monique turned around. Kim was standing very still at the moment. "What's wrong with you?"

Kim's horrified face and wide eyes told her something was indeed very wrong. She felt something bump into her back while she was looking the other way. Then she felt tiny legs crawling up her back. A slight buzzing sound filled her ears as translucent wings fluttered in excitement. It didn't take long for the bug's bulbous head to appear over her shoulder and Monique's jaw dropped. Behind Kim, the insect's scorpion-like tail reared back.

**KP**

Felix fell off his chair, the dactyl having launched itself into an attack that would have surely taken out his eyes if he hadn't moved in time. Now he never considered himself handicapped before, but being on the floor while a hostile carnivorous bird was coming around for another jab was frightening enough without the use of his legs. He noticed with horror that his chair had been tipped over. There was no way he'd be able to get it upright in time before the dactyl attacked.

As if knowing this, the dactyl moved in for the kill. Felix desperately crawled away to one of the nearby check-out counters. His hands reached the edge when he felt his body being tugged away. It was strange, but Felix didn't feel any pain at all, and yet he still screamed as if a hot poker had been burned into his left calf. The dactyl's powerful beak had clamped down on Felix's calf and drew blood. Felix grabbed the edge of the counter and held on for dear life, his body being lifted off the floor and held at a horizontal angle two feet up. He cried for help but no one was around. The few patrons who remained at the front of the store were trying desperately to keep any more bugs or birds from breaking into the store, holing up gaps and fortifying their walls.

Felix was on his own.

"Help me!" He cried. "Ned! Ron! Kim! Monique! Someone!" Felix could hear his pants tear, the creature's sharp jaws cutting into his skin and tearing at muscle and bone. His leg would give out at any moment. "Help!"

A flash of green light and intense heat followed that last plea and the dactyl cried out in agony. Felix slammed onto the floor. He pulled himself to a sitting position as fast as he could, his leg bleeding but still attached, finding the dactyl covered in flame...green flame. It burned at the dactyl's skin, turning its blue-gray body black in mere seconds. Finally, the dactyl stopped moving, becoming no more than a charred husk.

Still gasping, Felix's wide-eyed stare followed the direction the flames came from. A woman in a green and black cat suit was standing with a slight limp, her hands up and still smoking from the blast she used to destroy the dactyl. Her suit had several rips and her right calf had been hastily bandaged, but none of those things took away from the splendor that was this femme fatale. Villain or not, right now she was Felix's hero...and she wasn't done yet, not by a long shot.

"Damn," she said. "How long was I out?"

**KP**

"Don't...move."

Kim would have rolled her eyes at Monique's suggestion if it hadn't been ludicrously obvious. She could feel the bug's head right by her ear, its mandibles clicking and clacking as if whispering horrendous love notes into her lobe. Every female fiber in Kim's body wanted to shout out the greatest "Eww" in history. She kept completely still, fearing the smallest movement could mean her doom. The eyes rolled in every direction and one of them extended, the stem propping Kim's ear.

Now she began to shiver uncontrollably. "M-Monique...h-help..."

Monique didn't know what to do. If she moved, the bug might well sting Kim. However, she could not just stand there and do nothing, especially with the fire growing behind them. She watched Kim struggle to stay into place. She'd seen her friend stand up to the most daunting of evildoers without the slightest bit of fear. This time, however, Kim Possible was terrified. This was one enemy that would not be intimidated by her reputation or fighting skill, nor could it be goaded into making a mistake. It ran on pure instinct, something of which allowed Kim to overcome her many opponents. Only its greatest weapon was not some doomsday machine or overly complicated trap. It was a poisonous stinger just three inches long.

A heavy hand smacked the bug off of Kim's back and she screamed. It wasn't pain but shock, as Kim was just as surprised as Monique when Mr. Barkin appeared, his foot stomping down on the bug as it fluttered on the floor. Its body disintegrated under Barkin's massive weight and there was nothing left but an ugly splotch and pieces of chitin, not to mention two pairs of very crumpled wings. "You alright, Possible?"

"Mr. Barkin!" Kim threw her arms around his neck, her feet dangling from the ground. "Thank you! Thank you!"

The man, once so immovable, actually blushed. "Ahem!" He gently dislodged the grateful girl. "You are welcome. You're just fortunate I was happening by when I saw the smoke."

"Kim took out one of the dinosaur things with a torch. The bad news? She also lit several racks on fire."

"It's not like I did it on purpose, Monique."

"I'm sure you did everything you could. Right now we have to put out that fire." Steven looked up. "The fire sprinklers should have activated by now."

"Could there have been a short circuit? You know, like after the blackout?" Kim asked.

"Possibly. In the meantime we'll have to do this the old-fashioned way." He led the way back to the flaming stacks which were like a giant pyre now. "We need to separate the burning racks from each other. Start knocking down the ones that haven't caught fire and pull them away. If the flames have nothing to burn then they will eventually run out." Mr. Barkin led by example, creating a gap between the racks that weren't burning from those that were, braving the flames without the slightest hesitation.

Kim moved to join him but felt a hand on her shoulder. "Kim? Where did it go?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The dinosaur. It was dead...wasn't it?" The dactyl was nowhere to be found, the spot they had left it now very vacant.

Monique's question had Kim looking around, alert. "I threw the mop right in its face."

"And it died, right?"

"I thought so."

"A little help, ladies." Barkin's voice came through the smoke. He was coughing. He couldn't see the girls anymore. He could barely see an inch in front of his nose. He didn't see it coming.

A form leaped onto the man's chest, raptor legs digging into it as if it were paper. A sharp beak clamped down on Barkin's shoulder and ripped out a chunk of flesh. Mr. Barkin was no novice to pain and had honed his body to react to it accordingly. He grunted and grabbed the animal by the winds, pulling and tearing as he tried to keep his face away from that horrific beak. His chest was bleeding and he felt blood seeping down his clothes, but Barkin did not relent. He did not give up. Instead he moved toward the flames, exposing the creature's back to the fire. Realizing his intent, the dactyl released him and tried to fly away, except that its wings were in the man's grasp and he threw it with all his might into the pyre. It disappeared into the inferno, its last screech a curse thrown at the man who killed it.

Clutching his chest, Mr. Barkin stumbled out of the smoke. He heard Kim cry out when she saw him. "Oh my God!"

Barkin almost barreled into them but managed to keep his footing. Kim and Monique grabbed one of his arms to help steady him up but Barkin would have none of that. "I'm fine," he coughed, a trickle of blood running down his chin. His left shoulder was ravaged where the dactyl had bitten him and the whole front of his shirt as colored red. "It just caught me by surprise."

"I'm so sorry. I thought it was dead. I didn't mean..."

"Knock it off, Possible. Pity doesn't suit you. It's dead now and that's all that matters." He heard something over the flames. "No." Mr. Barkin turned around just as the dactyl burst out of the pyre, its whole body alit. He pushed the girls aside and reached out to the monster, its eyes telling him that it mean to take him with it on its journey to hell. The two fighters clashed; the flames on the dactyl lighting up Barkin's clothes. Yelling, Mr. Barkin grappled with the dactyl as they fell to the ground, clawing, biting, and punching.

"Mr. Barkin!" Kim ran to help him but they had rolled a good twenty feet to the side. While Barkin had the advantage of strength and size, the dactyl was on fire and it burned the man horribly in the face and arms. He managed to put out the fire on his clothes during the roll and by then the dactyl had weakened enough in its struggle to stay alive that it stopped kicking. With a roar that froze Kim in her tracks, Barkin threw the dactyl onto its back, straddled it to either side, and began beating it do death. It didn't take long for the creature to stop moving and when Barkin finally moved away from it, its head was flattened and brain matter seeped out. The blackened husk was all that was left of this once deadly predator.

Kim watched Barkin collapse and ran to him. "Mr. B!" She knelt beside him. The man's face, chest, and arms were horribly burnt from the scuffle. About the only good thing to come out of the debacle was that the fire had cauterized the claw wounds in his chest, meaning he wouldn't be bleeding to death, but that was of little comfort to her right now. Tears rimmed her eyes and Kim could not believe what she saw. Mr. Barkin was the strongest man she had ever met besides her father and to see him so horribly scarred like this was too much. "Oh God."

Monique was there too. "Stay with him. I'll get help."

Kim did not watch her go. Her eyes were fixed on the dying man in front of her and oh how her heart sank. "Don't die, Mr. Barkin. Please." She almost gagged on the scent of burnt flesh. "Please."

Wheezing, Barkin closed his eyes.

**KP**

The attack lasted less than six minutes and only a handful of bugs, plus three dactyls, had managed to break into the Smarty Mart. Oscar managed to rally the people and the front and finally seal the breeches, securing the store from further invasion. The rest hunted down and killed the remaining creatures so that when Bonnie and Justine arrived they found a scene of relative stability. Now all that was left was to access the damage, tend to the wounded, and put out the fires.

"What happened?" Bonnie a brown-haired boy when he walked by her. He was clutching a bleeding hand and his eyes were still wide with shock.

"We were attacked, that's what."

"By what?"

His eyes turned from shock to confusion. "By the monsters outside. Lady, where the hell have you been? They broke through the glass and started eating people."

"Did anyone die?" Justine asked the boy and Bonnie looked at her in genuine disbelief. The blonde seemed not to care about the devastation surrounding her. She certainly didn't care that the boy was in obvious pain and that the blood from his hand was dripping to the floor.

"A guy got ripped to pieces, I think," the boy told her. "And one of the employees was badly burned."

"Who?" Justine asked.

"I don't know. The big guy, I think."

The girls glanced at each other.

"Have you been hiding under a rock or something? Didn't you hear the screams?" He winced as the pain in his hand grew stronger. "Ugh! I've gotta go." He left them to find someone who could look after his injury, offering them one more confused look before staggering off.

Justine scratched her chin.

"What are you thinking about?" Bonnie said, when she noticed Justine had been very silent for a while.

"I'm thinking this is another penny in the jar. It's something we can use to build our case against James Possible."

"I thought you already had everything you needed. Didn't you say you recognized that thing we found in the air duct?"

"I did. But there's still no direct connection with the space center. We can't just bring it out and say 'See, it's Possible's fault! Don't listen to Kim!'"

Bonnie grabbed her hair in frustration. "I don't get you. You act like you know what's going on but you're just as confused as the rest of us."

"I fail to see your logic."

"Face it, Justine." Bonnie stepped in front of her. "I've held enough grudges in my day to recognize a personal vendetta when I see one. You'll do anything to pin this on Kim even if her dad's not the one responsible for the mist."

"My argument seemed valid enough to turn you around."

"I said I'd help you. I never said I believed you."

"You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink, is that what you're saying?"

"I don't even know what you're saying." Bonnie threw her hands up in disgust. "God, why did I ever agree to help you?"

"Because you hate Kim Possible."

"I don't hate her...much."

"Uh-huh. Who are you trying to convince, Bonnie? Me or you?"

The brunette shook her head. "This is hopeless." She turned around and almost ran into Ron Stoppable. She shrieked when she noticed the blood on his face and shirt. More vividly, and therefore more important, was the bloody pair of lawn scissors he carried in one hand. The tool had been used recently and it was still dripping with black blood. "Ron?"

Justine looked around Bonnie. "What happened to you?"

"Same thing that's about to happen to you," he raised the scissors, snapping them open and shut for good measure, "if you don't start talking."

Bonnie stepped back, felt herself bump into Justine and looked at her once before looking back at Ron. The look on his face was like nothing the brunette had ever seen. Gone was the goofy, cherubic buffoon who was more smiles than Bonnie had ever thought was humanely possible. In its place stood a cold, angry man who had seen more than his fair share of death. This wasn't Ron. This wasn't even the Monkey Master. It was something else.

"You two are going to tell me everything you've been doing." He stepped forward. "Or I promise you that Kim will be the least of your worries."


	8. Revelations

**Darev:** I feel like I've abandoned this site. I've posted on a couple of forums, reviewed a few fics, but haven't been writing as much as I've used to. I did finally finish my masters degree and am now an out of work writer. Well, there's something in the works but I won't find out for a couple of weeks. I'm giving freelancing a shot and am trying to design my own website. I've also finished my book and have sent out a few queries to publishing houses. So things are in the works and I'm thankful for that.

As for this installment, Shego's back, Barkin's life is hanging by a thread, Justine and Bonnie are found out, and Ron's going into a very dark place. Revelations abound!

Thanks to zzzoo9, madmopar, the real sidekick, cajunbear73, taechunsa, angelus-alvus, daydreamer9, uberscriber, and the mysterious guest for leaving reviews.

**KP**

People were scared. Their sanctuary had been violated by the onslaught of the mist monsters, destroying their false sense of security. They'd strengthened the barricade and posted double watches along the line, arming everyone with a various assortment of sharp tools or blunt objects should another breech occur. They needn't have bothered, though, for the swarm had moved on and with them the birds of prey. The dactyls were only interested in the dragonflies, after all, and not the terrified humans hiding behind plain glass and stacked piles of manure.

No one slept easy that night. When morning came, and they were only able to tell that by the large clock in the lobby, the mist still blanketed the front of the store, blotting out any visibility. The monsters could be just a few feet in front of them and the onlookers would not have been able to tell. Surely no one was crazy enough to go looking for them, not after what happened. Shego's warning, about there being something in the mist, seemed almost prophetic now and no one questioned Ron's loading dock experience any longer. They may have not seen what those two had seen, but there was no doubting that there were a whole lot of things out there, and they wanted in.

With order restored, the leaders of the stranded band of people had collected themselves in the waiting room outside the manager's office. The two couches were occupied. One of them held Dr. Drakken, still out cold, still wheezing, the mark on his chest having to be cleaned again for it had gathered an ungodly amount of puss without attendance. The blue man slept uncomfortably, and while he may not have been tossing and turning like his female companion had been only a short time ago, it was clear that his experiences had been traumatic. His chest moved slower and his breathing slowed. If he lasted another night it would be a miracle.

The other couch held a new occupant, Steven Barkin. Unlike Drakken whose injuries could be covered, the wounds suffered by Barkin were not so easily hidden. The man had suffered second-degree burns on his face, chest and hands. The close-quarter fight he had with the dactyl had left horrendous scratch marks along the front of his body and shoulders. He had wrestled with the thing, pinned it down, and beat it to death with his own hands while his clothes were still aflame. It was the most amazing feat of human endurance Kim and Monique, who had been there when it happened, had ever seen. He was a remarkable man and it pained them greatly to see him this way.

Ironically enough, it had been the couch's former occupant who now tended to him, displaying an extraordinary degree of medical knowledge that increased Kim's respect for the woman tenfold. "How is he, Shego?"

"Dying." The woman's tone left no room for ifs, ands, or maybes. It was direct and to the point, a trait that stole the heart from Kim's next question.

"How long will he live?"

"I'm not a doctor. He might live through the night, or he might not."

"Funny," Monique began. She had been standing at the far wall, arms crossed, watching Shego look over her teacher. "He said the same thing about you yesterday. You came out of it."

Shego's green eyes fell on Monique and the ebon girl straightened up. "He's not me," she said before going over to Drakken. "He doesn't have my healing ability. It's amazing he remained conscious for as long as he did while he was on fire." She looked at Kim. "You say he beat the bird to death?"

Kim nodded. "Like a man possessed."

"Tough son of a bitch." She shook her head. "It's too bad he won't make it. We could use him."

"He will make it!" Kim latched onto Shego's arm and turned her around roughly. "He never gave up on you when you were lying there, near death, and going on and on about the mist. Show him the same respect."

"It's called being a realist, Princess." Shego detached herself from Kim's grasp with barely a shrug. She may not be at full strength, but she was still in peak condition. "Look, it's not that I want him to die. Far from it if he looked out for me the way you say he did. But we have to face facts. None of us here are emergency personnel with a doctorate in human physiology. I've patched up a lot of bodies in my day, though I was usually the one breaking them, but even I can't repair damaged tissue. That man has suffered second-degree burns, which means he was within an inch," she held up her thumb and index finger, pinching them together as if holding a strand of hair, "of meeting his maker. Under normal circumstances we can call and have an ambulance cart him off to Middleton General. But things aren't normal around here, are they, Princess?"

Kim said nothing.

"That's what I thought." Concerned, she looked at Drakken. "I'm amazed he hasn't kicked the bucket yet. I guess the doc's made of tougher stuff than I gave him credit for."

"He won't die," Kim told Shego. Her mind was made up. Mr. Barkin had saved her life twice in the span of heartbeats; first when he knocked that dragonfly off her back and the second time when the dactyl leaped out of the fire. Had Kim been thorough and made sure that the dactyl was dead then Mr. Barkin wouldn't be hurt like this, his skin horribly burned. She blamed herself for what happened but she refused to give up. This was her mistake. Only she could fix it. "We're going to save him. And Dr. Drakken."

"Can't say the same for that Patrick guy." Monique had referred to the man who died when the dactyl tore out his throat at the onset of the fight. Ron had told them that he couldn't save him, that Patrick was dead before he'd ever gotten close and chased after the dactyl. The man's name had been Patrick...something-or-other and they put his body in the loading dock under a protective tarp. Some of his closest friends and neighbors had held a private ceremony for him.

Kim turned on Monique, eyes flaring. "We're not going to lose anyone else, Monique! First Mrs. Vespers, then Junior, now Patrick," she clenched her fists. "They're the last ones. The _only_ ones."

"So sayeth the great Kim Possible."

Kim turned around. "We saved your life, Shego! How about a little gratitude?"

"Saved my life?" Shego scoffed. "Really? As I recall it, I saved _my_ life and the doc's when I ran away from the mist. I was tired, lost consciousness and woke up when all hell was breaking loose. I stumble out of bed, not sure of where I was, come down the stairs and find myself in a Tim Burton remake of Jurassic Park. One of your boys was about to be eaten. He'd have been dead if I hadn't stepped in and saved him. From what you told me you and your girlfriend needed saving today as well."

"We helped you."

"He helped me." Shego pointed a finger at Barkin. "And you. As far as I'm concerned he was the most useful person here."

"Just because you dated him doesn't mean you know him."

The green-eyed woman rolled her eyes as she knelt down beside Drakken, feeling his pulse. _Hang in there, Doctor D._

"Shego!" Kim's tone indicated she had called her name earlier and was irritated that she had to repeat herself. "Did you hear me?"

"Obviously not." Shego got up. "What do you want now, Pumpkin?"

"I asked you what happened to you while you were in the mist. When you first got here you shouted something and blacked out. For the past several hours you've been saying 'There's something in the mist' like you were having a bad dream. I need to know what's out there. What are we up against? What did you see in the mist?"

Shego touched her forehead like she felt a headache coming along.

"Well?" Kim said impatiently.

"I'm not sure."

"What?"

Shego turned around. "What are you deaf? I said I'm not sure."

"Did you lose your memory?"

"I wish." She regarded Drakken once before saying, "Look, it's not that I don't remember. It's just that...I don't want to."

That made both girls shiver.

"All I care to remember is that when the mist hit Dr. D and I were leaving Middleton. We were in my hovercar. The mist came at us and we lost power. I was able to crash us safely on the ground. The mist was all around us then. We couldn't see a thing." She covered her eyes. "We got lost. We didn't know where we were." Her words became whispers, like she was back in the mist and she feared to speak too loud less she draw unwanted attention. "That's when we heard them."

"Heard who? The bugs?" Monique asked.

But Shego shook her head. "No. Not bugs. Something bigger. A lot _bigger._"

Seeing the distress reminiscing was doing to her, Kim walked up to her and said in a cautionary voice, "What did you see?"

"I told you we didn't see anything. The mist was too thick." Shego became irritated.

"Fine. Then what did you hear?"

Reaching back to that moment in her mind, Shego sighed. She shook her head, trying to dislodge the memory, or discard it altogether. "It...it got Dr. D first. I was right next to him. We fumbled around for a while when we heard it coming toward us. At first we thought it was behind us but then we heard a sound in front of us. When we turned to go the other way, there it was, just feet from where we were standing. It was like it was playing with us, circling us like we were its prey." She paused a moment. "I don't know what happened next. One moment Drakken's right next to me and the next he's on the ground screaming. I felt him being pulled away and reached out to grab him. I started firing plasma blindly into the mist, hoping I would whatever it was that was holding him. He screamed..." Shego dropped her hand, her eyes globes of anguish. "I never heard him scream before."

Kim looked at Drakken. The man had loved to taunt his foes and boast about himself. He was a clichéd villain in every sense of the word. He was a pain and surely Kim enjoyed foiling his schemes one after the other, but the thought of him in pain, to be hacked and chewed like a piece of meat, it almost sent tears down her cheeks.

"I hit something," Shego went on, oblivious to the moisture forming around Kim's eyes. "It made a sound like nothing I ever heard. It was horrible. I almost screamed myself but Drakken was clawing at my ankle, begging me to get him up. I did. I swung his arm around my shoulder and started running."

"Where?" Monique asked.

"Anywhere. Middleton. China. Mars. So long as it was away from whatever was attacking us, I couldn't care less. Drakken said he was bleeding. He said the thing had stabbed him in the chest and that there was a lot of blood coming out. He was holding himself together, whining like a scared kid. I tried to get us out of there but then something attacked me. It wasn't as big but damn it was fast!" Her hand went reflexively to the scar on her thigh. It was bandaged up but she could still feel the sting. "I cried out and fell. I knew it was death to stop moving but I couldn't help it. I've never been caught off guard like that."

"And Drakken?" Kim asked.

"He screamed my name. Funny, but I think he was more concerned with me than with himself at the moment. The guy can surprise you now and then."

"Go on."

"I remember hitting the ground, hard. I felt something over me. It tried to grab me but I turned around and blasted it right in its face."

"You saw its face?" Monique said.

"Or its ass, maybe, I don't know. I was shooting at anything that moved. Whatever I hit, it backed off and into the mist. I went to get Drakken when I fell back down, realizing I'd been hurt." Her fingers caressed her thigh. "I couldn't access the damage right then so I picked Drakken up and started wobbling as fast as I could. I..." Shego stopped and left her mouth hanging open. She closed it and looked to the floor.

"What is it?" Kim was almost leaning into her.

"I remember...running...running and shooting. I don't know how long we were in there but it seemed like hours. I was so exhausted. It became difficult to think, to breathe. All I knew is that if I had stopped we were doomed. They were all around us then. Hundreds of them. Some sounded no bigger than your average dog, but the others, the big ones, they towered over us. Several things lashed out at us and I used up most of my energy by the time I finally found a break in the mist. Even then I didn't stop running. Both of us were bleeding and tired but I could not stop. I wouldn't stop. It was still behind us." Her knees became weak and finally Shego slumped to the floor. "We crested over a hill and that's when I saw the Smarty Mart. A strange horn started sounding when we entered the driveway. I saw people coming out, running for their cars. I didn't warn them, too tired. The last thing I remember was stumbling through the doors and collapsing to the floor." She looked up. "That about cover it?"

Kim fell to her knees in front of her. It occurred to her how human Shego looked at that moment, scared and tired. Of course she was too proud to admit it, but Kim knew that deep down whatever she saw in the mist would scar her in ways she could never imagine. Mr. Barkin had said so. She spared a glance at him as if hoping he'd sit up, brush off his burns, and become the rock that, she realized, she had grown to depend on since this whole thing started. Kim usually relied on herself, but there were times when having another strong rock at your side made you feel that much stronger. Mom and Dad weren't here, and Ron was lost in grief. Monique was distracted and the only other person Kim could depend on was laying near-death on the couch.

"So we don't know what's out there."

"It's better it stay that way, Princess. I don't know about you but I saw just about enough to last me a lifetime, and I couldn't even _see_ anything."

"It's been a day since the mist arrived. We're cut off from the outside world and have no idea how far the mist has spread."

"You think it could be global?" Monique's terrified question sent Kim's mind spinning.

"I don't think it's gotten that far, yet. Before it hit Smarty Mart, I remember seeing the mist from my house. It was coming from the east and it took at least a couple of hours before it reached us." She looked at Shego. "If you were able to outrun it then it can't be spreading that fast. If it remains low to the ground then there's a good chance that the mountains surrounding the Tri-City Area would be enough to contain it, to keep it from expanding. The government is probably on full alert by now and has this whole region quarantined. They'll figure that there must be some people still trapped inside and are preparing a rescue as we speak."

"That's some sound reasoning, Princess," Shego said. "But consider my hovercar. It lost all power when the mist came up. If that's the case then it might generate some electro-magnetic pulse that disables most machinery. I doubt the government could get anything with larger carrying capacity than a jeep in here."

"Even if you're right, the pulse can't be that strong." She motioned to the room. "We still have power."

"But for how long?"

"Oscar said that Smarty Mart can run for weeks even off the main power grid."

"Oscar?"

"The bald guy. He's been an employee here for more than thirty years."

Shego recalled the portly gentleman who greeted her after successfully repelling the attackers. "He sure looks it."

"Anyway, I'm sure GJ at least has some transport that can..." It then hit her. "GJ!" Kim shot up so fast she startled Shego. "I forgot all about them."

"Then consider yourself lucky."

"I'm serious, Shego! They can help us."

"But do we want it?"

Monique raised her voice. "Um...hello? OOTLH!"

"Is she okay?"

Kim smiled. "Monique has a unique way of talking. It means OUT OF THE LOOP HERE." She turned to her friend. "I'm not really supposed to talk about them given that they're a top secret government agency and all."

"But..." Monique pressed.

"But, they're an organization that specializes in taking down super criminals like Monkey Fist and Professor Dementor."

Shego scoffed. "'Super?' Those spats are almost as incompetent as Drakken. No offense, doc," she told his sleeping form. Amazingly, Drakken seemed disgruntled by her comment and bared his teeth momentarily. Shego smiled at that as if it had been his secret way to let her know that he was still fighting.

"GJ has all sorts of high-tech gadgets," Kim went on. "I'm sure they have equipment that can defend against electro-magnetic pulses. Their secret base looked like it could have withstood a thermonuclear blast."

"Not so secret now," Monique commented.

"What I'm saying is that if we can somehow contact them, to let them know that we're here, they'll be able to send help." For the first time since this all started, Kim was genuinely smiling. She slapped a fist into her open palm. "Betty will help us. I know she will."

"Betty?"

"GJ's head honcho," Shego said for Monique's benefit. "You know for her best friend, she sure keeps you out of the loop."

"Tell me about it."

Kim grimaced. "Okay enough! We have a plan. I'll need to speak to Felix about this."

"Felix?" Shego scratched her chin. "He's the boy whose chair Motor Ed tried to steal, right?"

Kim nodded. "He's also one of the smartest guys I know. He tried to build a long-range satellite earlier but it fell apart. He just didn't have the right tools for the job. I'm sure he'll figure out a way to call GJ."

A thought crossed Shego's head. "What about that fat kid you're always talking too...the geek who never leaves his room?"

"Wade."

"Yeah, him. Can't you call him and have him send a message to Betty?"

Kim sighed at that. "I tried contacting Wade earlier. There was no signal. It's like he disappeared."

"Then we're screwed."

Kim glared at her. "I told you Felix can do it!"

"If you say so." Shego got to her feet. "Because if he can't, I don't care what you say or what anyone else says, I'm getting Dr. D out of here if I have to hike all the way through Middleton to do it."

"He won't survive out there."

"He won't survive in here. Face it, Kimmie. You guys may have food, water, and power but if there's one thing you're lacking it's medical supplies and the know-how to use it. Good wishes aren't going to save Drakken...or your teacher. I can't wait around hoping Betty or some other government schmuck will arrive on a white horse and a stretcher. Your boy either gets someone on the other line or we're out of here. Capiche?"

Kim nodded. "You won't be disappointed." Kim looked at Monique. "Can you tell Felix I need to see him?" Kim looked at Shego and motioned to the other room. "In the meantime, there's someone else I need to have a serious talk with."

Kim and Shego headed to the manager's office while Monique made her way to the exit. "Guess I'm just the messenger girl now." Monique knew she was out of her depth here. First she watched her friend almost get stung by a giant flying cockroach and then she just stood by while Mr. Barkin fought for his life against a burning dinosaur. Now that Barkin was down for the count and Shego in the picture, she could tell that she had been bumped down the chain of command. She wasn't even the sidekick anymore, only the errand girl. She glanced over her shoulder at Kim and Shego and wondered if she should even come back at all.

**KP**

In the manager's office, Ron Stoppable hovered like a warden over Justine and Bonnie. The two girls sat in individual chairs with their backs to the desk, facing the door. He had to change again, Ron, after having finished off that dactyl using a pair of lawn scissors with frightening effect. This time he picked off the rack and donned a long, brown shirt with red cuffs. He had kept the scissors, however, the tool-turned-weapon down the back of his pants with the handles sticking out. After having washed it of the dactyl's blood Ron found it pleased him having them around. The thing could be quite useful in case he needed to vent any future frustrations.

The girls only hoped he wouldn't vent anytime soon because he looked at them dangerously. Bonnie had remained silent for most of the exchange, leaving the talking to Justine. It didn't take a Wade Load to realize who was calling the shots here. What struck Ron as incredible was how submissive Bonnie was during the whole thing, keeping silent mostly, only speaking whenever Ron spoke to her directly. It wasn't like her and that irked Ron all the more. Bonnie's bitchy, higher-than-thou nature was part of what Ron perceived to be normal. For her to act against her nature only reminded him of just how F'd up this whole sitch was. Nothing was the way it should be. People weren't being who they were. They had all changed and Ron wasn't sure if it was for the better.

He heard Kim and Shego enter the room, which made him turn around. "It's about time." He didn't sound impatient but there was a coldness to his voice that stopped Kim her tracks. Shego raised an eyebrow, not afraid but noticing the change that had come over the 'buffoon.' Looking back at his prisoners, Ron said, "Go on. Tell her what you told me."

Justine just glared at him, defiantly.

"Fine." He looked to her left. "Bonnie?"

"Why don't you tell her?" The brunette asked. "I didn't know half the things Justine did until a few minutes ago."

"But you knew enough and said nothing."

"Can you blame me?"

"Yes." Ron narrowed his eyes. "I can blame you for a lot of things, Bonnie. There's too much crap going down for us to hold onto old grudges right now, so I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and remind myself that I help people."

"Tough man," Justine smirked. "When Kim's around."

Ron didn't smile. He didn't twitch. He didn't back down to Justine in any way. "I can hold my own."

"When you have a weapon on hand, it seems. I wonder if you would have been able to handle the monsters without those scissors. Tell me, Ron, did it feel good to have the choice of life and death in your hands? Did it feel good killing something? Did you like it?"

Ron's stare was just cold.

"Well?" Justine said. "Did you?"

"What are you doing?" Bonnie whispered, though it was pointless given that Ron was only a foot away from them.

"Making a point."

"Funny you should say that." Faster than their eyes could follow Ron reached behind and brought out the scissors. He spread the blades out and held them around Justine's thin neck, startling the blonde. Behind him, Kim and Shego let out gasps and Bonnie shrieked. "I have a few points to make myself." There was almost a sadistic glee in his voice that sent shivers down Justine's spine. She could feel the razor's edge on her skin and held still for fear of it tasting her flesh. The blades were very close to a major artery.

"Stop it!"

Lucky for her Kim rushed over and pulled Ron back. "What the hell's the matter with you? You might have hurt her."

"And that would be wrong?"

"Yes! We don't hurt people, Ron. You said it yourself, you help people."

"You mean like Junior?" He looked at her. "I helped him."

Kim pulled him to the side and spoke in a voice that only he could hear. "Ron, now isn't the time for this. I need you to keep a cool head and not go all psycho on me. Can you do that?"

"You didn't hear what they said. How can I not be angry?"

"Cool it, Ron!"

"Fine." He pulled away from her, roughly. "But you may not think that way after you hear what they have to say." He walked to the other side of the room, passing Shego who had a dark smile on her face. "What are you looking at?"

"Down boy," her smile widened. She had to admit that she liked this newer, darker version of Ron. It almost made him look good.

Ron leaned against the wall by the door and crossed his arms. Kim shook her head and knew that she _must_ deal with him eventually. Their past conversations and interactions were proof that everything was coming apart at the seams. Turning to the girls, Kim approached Justine first and said, "What do you have to tell me?"

"Nothing," Justine said. "Save that it's all your father's fault."

"Not this again."

"Again?" Shego said. "Am I missing something here?"

"Justine thinks my dad has something to do with the mist. We talked about it before. Argued, actually. I told her to let it slide, that my father would never knowingly put the town in danger." She looked at Bonnie. "Just as I told you, Bonnie."

"Kim..." Bonnie seemed hesitant at first. She looked at Justine who just glared daggers at Kim. Shaking her head, Bonnie said, "Just listen to what she has to say."

"That's a first," Kim said. "You're letting someone else speak for you? You must have hit your head pretty hard after that car crash."

"Joke all you want, Possible! I know what I saw."

"Which is...?"

Justine smiled at last. "Your father was doing some dangerous research at the center. That research was responsible for the mist." She tilted her head to the side. "And I can prove it."

"Justine,"

"What's the matter? Can't help knowing that Daddy Possible was imperfect?"

Kim grabbed Justine by the collar and pulled her up. "Enough! I won't have you slurring his name."

"Touchy! You going to do what Ron promised a moment ago?"

Kim tossed her back in the chair. "Start talking sense!"

"Very well. I told you about my hacking into the center's secure files, correct? Before I was permanently locked out?"

Kim recalled their first conversation at the Bueno Nacho. "Yes."

"I managed to pull a few files onto my computer. Most of it was logistics; names of the people working on the project, your dad among them, military checkpoints to and around the space center, what was on the menu for lunch that afternoon, etc. But a few things stood out. I downloaded some very interesting pictures."

"R-rated I hope?" Shego said.

"This isn't funny, Shego," Kim shot at her. "If you can't contribute to this in any way then why don't you take a cue from Bonnie and keep your mouth shut?"

"Yes, Mistress." Shego was still smiling when Kim looked away.

"Go on."

"Some of the photos were renderings of things I'd never seen before. I think I recall seeing something that resembled those flying dinosaurs that broke in here, though based on their sketches I'd say they were perhaps five times as large."

"Are you saying those things we killed might have been just babies?"

Justine shrugged. "Could be."

"They die easily enough," Ron said from his point on the wall.

"Then I hope you have a really large pair of scissors, Ronnie Boy. I saw other things that made those dinosaurs look like tweetie birds. Whoever had drawn those renderings had obviously seen some things that were literally out of this world. Some had multiple legs, appearing crustacean; others were as big as a six-story building and walked on bulbous legs as wide as Redwoods."

Behind Kim, Shego seemed to shrink back a little, like she was remembering the things that attacked her and Drakken in the mist. Ron noticed this. He watched her.

"I didn't take them seriously at first. How could I? I'm a woman of science and this looked like science fiction to me. But then I found something. We did." She nodded at Bonnie. "Back in the loading dock."

"You were at storage?" Kim asked Bonnie. "After what happened?"

"I was following her," Bonnie said in her defense. "She wanted to find some evidence tying your dad to the mist so I went with her."

"Why?" Kim asked harshly.

"I was curious," Bonnie said, though didn't seem to believe her own words.

"She hates you, Kim. Always did. Putting the blame on your father would have been the perfect way to bring you down."

Kim glared daggers at Bonnie. "Is that true, Bonnie?"

"No! Well, I do hate you. But I have nothing against Dr. Possible."

"But you're still willing to smear his name."

"I just want to know what's going on."

"I'll tell you what's going on." Shego spoke at last. "The world's gone to hell and we're right in the seventh circle. That about cover it, princess?"

Kim turned around. "What did I do?"

"Not you. That _princess_." She pointed at Bonnie. "I can tell a girl who thinks she's all that just by looking at her. I mean come on. I fight one all the time."

"Oh, then...hey!" Kim narrowed her eyes.

"Don't give me that look. You and her have a lot more common than you think."

"We do not!" Both girls said together before looking at each other.

"I rest my case."

"Why don't you rest your mouth as well, Shego!" Kim turned back to Bonnie. "Do you hate me that much that you'll hurt my family to get to me?"

"I told you I don't hate your father." She turned to the side, "Just you."

"Why, Bonnie? With everything that's going on, why do this now?"

"Can we not get into this right now?"

"That's right, Bonnie." Justine chuckled. "This is all about Kim, not you."

"Wrong!" And Bonnie turned on her. "This is all about you!"

"Tell her what you found," Ron said from the back.

"I found a monster," Justine went on, "near the loading dock that resembled one of the artist depictions I pulled from the center's mainframe."

"Did you kill it?" Shego asked.

"It was already dead. Or dying, anyway. Once it stopped moving, Bonnie and I dragged it back to the front and put it in the ladies restroom."

"You mean to tell me one of those things is inside?" Kim's eyes went wide.

"It's dead!"

Kim turned to Ron. "Have you checked her story?"

He nodded. "I had them take me back to the restroom. The thing's dead alright. I cut it with my scissors just to make sure. It kind of looks like a flying saucer or a kite with legs."

"Honestly, Kim. The thing was dead." Bonnie pleaded with her rival. "You think we'd be stupid enough to bring something alive back to the front where it could have hurt someone?"

"Knowing you, Bonnie, you're capable of doing most anything. And you, Justine, I don't know you as well, but your character says a lot about you."

"As does yours, Kim Possible."

"We're using full names now? Okay, _Justine Flanner_, let me ask you this: how does having a dead monster that you saw in a picture connect the mist to my father?" Kim leaned in when she said that, wanting to be in Justine's face.

To that Justine replied, "Alone? It doesn't."

"Then you have nothing."

"Not yet."

"Why do you want to do this?"

"Good question," Bonnie muttered.

"Quiet you!" Justine snapped before turning to Kim. They glared at each other for many tense seconds, drawing the eye of everyone in the room. Stoic by nature, Justine could stare with the best of them, her unflinching pride a driving force behind her success in the scientific fields. She came from a family of geniuses and this was no exception. Perhaps it was time to let the cat out of the bag, or at least let it poke its head out. "Alright, Kim. Do you want to know the truth? Do you want to know why I'm doing this?"

"We're all here, Justine."

She smiled. It was a knowing smile as if she couldn't believe the ignorance she was forced to deal with. "Have you heard of the Arrowhead Project?"

"What's that?"

"It's the name of the experiment that your father was working on at the space center."

"Wait a minute!" Shego spoke up. "You knew?"

Justine nodded.

"Then why all the secrecy? Why act like you were in the dark like the rest of us?" Kim asked.

"Honestly, I only knew bits and pieces. I'd done some work at the space center in the past, me being a genius and all." Justine leaned back. "You can attest to that, right Kim?"

"Keep talking."

"Fine. I'd heard rumors about a highly secretive project that was about to get underway. Sadly, even my credentials didn't allow me access to this privileged information. I had to go through a source at the space center, someone I helped who owed me big."

"You have a mole at the center?" Kim asked.

"Call her what you wish."

"Her?"

"Do want to hear this or not?" Justine waited until she was sure there would be no interruptions before continuing. "She was able to slip me some highly sensitive documents detailing certain aspects of the project. The Arrowhead Project, as it was called, entailed the building of a bridge between our world and another. From what I was able to gather, using the information I had on hand combined with a little common sense, the government wanted to create a portal to another world that would grant them access to natural resources not found on earth."

"Why?" Kim shrugged her thin shoulders.

Justine shrugged back, as if it were obvious. "Think about it. Having resources that no other country possesses would give the U.S. government a huge leg-up over its rivals. Besides, our economy is bad, so the bigwigs are desperate for any solution to their problems."

Kim crinkled up her face. "And they thought strolling into a world full of man-eating bugs, birds, and kites,"

"And tentacles," Ron said behind her.

"And tentacles," she added for his benefit, "would make things all better?"

"I don't believe they fully understood the dangers involved," Justine said.

Shego scoffed, causing everyone to look at her. "There's a big surprise." She looked at Kim. "And you want to ask Betty for help? She works for those morons in Washington."

Back to Justine, Kim asked, "What do you mean? I'm sure the scientists at the center sent something through the portal, a probe or a robot, to check things out before going in."

"I'm sure they did," Justine agreed. "And if that probe showed a pristine-white beach with surf and clear skies, do you think they'd have hesitated on sending someone through?" She chuckled. "Problem is, a door can swing in two directions. The idiots were so busy trying to figure out a way in that they didn't stop to consider what they'd be letting out."

"And you figured all this out based on a few pictures?" Shego asked. "I find that hard to believe."

"I don't care what you believe."

"You should." Shego walked past Kim and up to Justine. Raising a clawed glove, the villainess grazed a finger over Justine's soft check. To her credit, Justine did not flinch or show any fear. Shego enjoyed a challenge. "You see, I'm a bit smarter than Princess here, and I know when someone isn't telling me everything." Before Kim could protest her remark, Shego grabbed Justine's chin, hard, causing the prodigy to cringe and sputter through her lips. Beside her, Bonnie edged away. She was not about to get in Shego's way, even if Justine and her had been BFFs since childhood.

Raising Justine's face up so that she could look at her in the face, Shego leaned in close. "What is it, little fish? Hm? What are you afraid to tell us?"

Justine grimaced as Shego tightened her grip on her. Of course, this would make it impossible for Justine to respond but Shego did not release her just yet. She was having too much fun.

Kim came up behind her. "Let her go, Shego!"

"Stay back, Kimmie. You're new at this."

"At what?"

"Interrogation."

"You're hurting her."

"That's what interrogation entails."

At the wall, Ron smiled darkly at Shego's treatment of Justine. True enough, he wasn't sure if he was willing to go through with his threat to hurt Justine with the lawn scissors. Shego had no such compunctions. She would do what it takes to get the job done. Watching Justine squirm like this, not to mention Bonnie, Ron could not help but enjoy himself.

"Talk!" Shego shook Justine, making her groan.

Kim clamped a hand down on Shego's arm. "I'm warning you, Shego. Let her go. Now!"

Slowly, the raven-haired vixen regarded her teenage nemesis. "You threatening me, Princess?" To Kim's surprise, Shego did let Justine go. She turned to her full height, half a head taller than Kim was, and stared down the Possible girl. "After what I've seen the last few hours, do you really think you scare me?"

Kim didn't back down. She stared coldly at Shego. "I don't want to fight you, Shego. I just want to find some answers."

"Then let me do my job."

"Your job was to protect Drakken. Look how that turned out."

Hot anger flashed across Shego's lime-green face. At her sides, her hands trembled as if to strike out at Kim. Green fire ignited. "What did you say?"

Realizing she'd crossed the line, Kim softened her tone somewhat. "Look, I was out of line."

"Out of line? OUT OF LINE?" Shego growled like an animal. "You want to see out of line?" Before Kim could react, Shego grabbed Justine by the neck, lifted her off the chair, and raised her other hand. Shego blasted the window and carried Justine's body toward the opening. Dangling Justine outside, the patrons below, those who had heard the commotion and rushed to the site of the strewn glass, gawked up in horror as Justine's legs dangled over fifteen feet of air.

"Shego!"

"Stay back!" Shego warned Kim. "One more step and I drop her."

Kim stopped, fear all over her face. Back at the wall, Ron looked anxious, though whether it was over concern over Justine, which was unlikely, or supporting Kim, no one could tell. Bonnie leaped out of her chair. "That bitch is crazy!"

Kim shoved Bonnie aside. "Shego, please!"

Holding Justine by the neck, Shego glared daggers into her green eyes. "Care to talk now?" Justine grabbed feebly at Shego's iron-like hands, her legs kicking madly. "What's that? I can't understand you."

"You're killing her!" Kim protested.

"Not yet." Shego looked down. "A bit of a ways down." She looked back at Justine. "You could survive, you know, if I dropped you like this. Might break a leg or an arm, but you wouldn't die. Unless..." Using her enhanced strength, Shego flipped Justine over so that her head was facing down. Grabbing her by the leg, Shego held the girl out so that she thrashed upside down like a newborn babe fresh out of its mothers' womb. "Now if you were to fall from this angle, you might break your neck instead. What do you think? Hm? Which bone can you do without for the next few hours? Arm? Leg? Neck? Keep in mind," Shego persisted, "That if by some chance you do make it unscathed that there are no doctors around. You'd have to live with that injury for a long time. There's no guarantee help might come before you bleed to death, or puncture a major artery."

"You're insane!" Justine wailed.

"Of course I'm insane. I'm a villain."

"Shego!"

"Not now, Princess."

"Do something!" Justine yelled at Kim.

"Now you want her help? Before you were willing to disgrace her and her family and now you plead for her help?" Shego violently shook Justine. "People like you are worse than I am. You sit back and judge, point and accuse, yet when it comes to getting your hands dirty or facing up to your mistakes, you prove how chicken you really are." Shego raised her up. "I don't like chicken." She dangled Justine again. "Now squawk!"

"Help!" Justine cried.

"She's crazy!" Somewhere below a voice said. The crowd yelled and everyone was looking every which way for someone to do something, anything to stop this. Having just come back with Felix, Monique spotted the circus and ran toward the door that led to the steps to the office. Since there was no ramp, Felix had to stand back and gawk like everyone else.

"Squawk!" Shego shook Justine again. "What aren't you telling us? What do you know about the Arrowhead Project?"

"It was mine!" Justine wailed, her voice drowned out by the shocked cries below. But Shego and Kim heard her.

"What?" Shego asked.

Grumbling, her head filling with blood, Justine glared upside down at the two women. "It was my invention. My idea." Finally she said, "Your father stole it from me!"

"Shego." Kim placed a hand on the woman's shoulder, pleading with her. "Bring her back in. Please."

Shego did just that. She even went so far as to put Justine back in the chair, once she righted her up, however. Gasping, Justine struggled to reorient herself.

Kim now stood before her, Shego having played her part and moving back to Ron who observed with admiration her technique. The woman was a natural. Shego took her spot on the other side of the door, arms crossed much like Ron had done. When Monique came barreling in, she took one look around, saw Shego, and back away reflexively. "What were you doing?"

She felt Ron tap her from behind and when she turned he held up a finger to his lips to signal her to be quiet.

Back in the chair, Justine slowly raised her eyes toward Kim. "Well?" The redhead pressed. "Explain."

"Explain what?" Justine hissed like a serpent. "That your father and the fools at the space center took credit for my invention, my genius? That they stole my idea?" Heated, Justine shot up, kicked her chair backward. Kim did not budge, wasn't even afraid, as Justine stepped up to her. The prodigy was livid, her secret out, her truth exposed. "You Possibles think you're all that. But you're not!"

"She is smart," Shego commented. "If only the Doc were awake."

Monique turned to Ron. "Ron?"

"It's okay, Monique." He pulled her back by the arm, gently. "Justine's about to spill the beans."

Bonnie had gradually moved back to where they were, shocked by the revelation.

"What do you mean my dad stole your idea?" Kim asked Justine.

"Think on it, Possible! A portal to another dimension? Does that ring any bells?"

Kim didn't have to think back on it long. She'd seen enough strange things in her life to have a déjà vu moment, but what Justine just described opened up peculiar case she and Ron had to deal with a couple years ago. "Your kinematic continuum disruptor."

"I've seen the schematics for the Arrowhead Project. It's based on my design." Justine was speaking through grit teeth. "That day after we used the disruptor to teleport that dino-thing into another dimension, the military sent representatives to my house. They wanted to confiscate my invention for fear that it might fall into the wrong hands. I told them it wouldn't, that I had everything under control, but after seeing what that thing did to Middleton the night before and the damage the monster did to the school, they didn't want to take any chances. I was forced to hand over everything pertaining to the kinematic continuum disruptor, months of work gone in just a few hours."

Justine closed her eyes as if in pain. "I was so angry for what they did." She opened them. "But I didn't blame you. I didn't hate you then and I don't hate you now."

Kim's mouth gawked.

"I hated your father." Admitting the truth seemed to ease the enraged blonde and she sank into the vacant chair, the one Bonnie was sat in. "Those files I managed to graze off the space center mainframe, they told me everything. The one scientist who signed off on the acquisition of my disruptor for research purposes," Justine looked up, "was Dr. James Timothy Possible."

"What?"

"No wonder she held a grudge," Ron said.

Monique looked around at everyone. "Someone want to fill me in, please?"

"Just a sec, Monique," Kim said over her shoulder. Back to Justine, she said, "So my dad used your invention for the Arrowhead Project?"

"My kinematic continuum disruptor could tear apart the fabric of reality, creating gaps between dimensions. It's how we were able to contain that fat woman's mutant dinosaur."

"Who?" Bonnie asked aloud.

"DNAmy," Ron told her. "A crazed lady who had a crush on Dr. Drakken."

Beside the door, Shego shivered.

"I couldn't believe it when I found out," Justine said. "My invention, my dream, was being used by the government and the military." She glared at Kim. "And your father was the reason for it."

"But why would he take your invention?" Kim asked. "My dad never stole from anybody in his life."

"Dr. D might have something different to say on that matter," Shego said. "He hates your dad's guts."

"And so do I," Justine told Kim. "It's bad enough that your father took my disruptor from me. But then to find out that he used it for the Arrowhead Project, that he used it to allow the monsters to enter our world,"

"Now wait a minute!" Kim raised her voice.

Justine shut her up. "I know you're going to tell me he didn't do it on purpose, Kim. Maybe you're right." Justine hung her head. "But it doesn't matter now. What matters it was my disruptor that enabled the jokes at the space center to open up a door to whatever world these monsters came from. If I was at the helm of this project, none of this would have happened. I built the disruptor. I know how it works." Justine looked up. "None of this would have happened if your dad wasn't a damn thief!"

She stood up, fists at her sides. "That's why I'm angry, Kim. That's why I'm doing everything possible to blemish your father's name. He's a crook and I'll never forgive him for what he did!"

The shock on Kim's face was so great, that she didn't realize she'd been walking backward until she felt Monique's hand on her shoulder. "Kim, you don't know she's telling the truth." She glared at Justine. "She kept secrets from us before. Don't listen to her."

"Keeping secrets and telling lies are two different things, Monique. Besides, what reason would I have to lie to you?" Justine crossed her arms. "The truth hurts!"

"I don't...believe it," Kim said.

"Believe it," Justine spat. "Dr. Possible is the reason we're in this mess!"

Kim growled. "Shut up!" She was lucky Monique was holding onto her, else Kim would have finished what Shego started. "Don't you dare say that again!"

"Kim no!" Monique pulled her back. Though Kim was the better fighter, Monique had more muscle tone and was able to keep her in check else she would have strangled the blonde. "Ron. Little help here!" Ron moved away from the wall to assist Monique with an angry Kim. They settled her down while Bonnie moved past them.

The brunette addressed Justine directly. "Is that was all this is about? A vendetta?"

Justine crossed her arms. "At least I have a good reason for hating the Possibles. What's your beef with Kim? The Food Chain?" She scoffed. "Don't judge me, Bonnie. Not long ago you were willing to do anything to bring down Kim without knowing anything at all."

"I know but," Bonnie seemed at a loss for words, which was a first. "But is this the right time for all this?"

Justine turned an incredulous eye on her. "Seriously?"

Justine was right. Right now, Bonnie was in no position to judge.

Once Kim was settled, Monique and Ron stepped away. She glared at Justine from across the room. Justine glared back, meeting the heroine glare for glare.

Seeing as how she was in a room full of adolescents, Shego spoke up to break the monotony. "Okay, kids. Here's what we're going to do."

All heads turned to her as she stepped into the middle of the room. "Now that we're all done sharing, it's time we face the facts. One: we're trapped in this Smarty Mart with no means of communicating. Two: Dr. D and Steven need medical attention, fast. Three: no help has come for us yet which means, A) the mist has spread farther than we've feared, B) they simply haven't found us yet, or C) they can't reach us, in which case we have to get to them first. Four: regardless of how well-stocked we are, our supplies won't last forever. I don't plan to stay here any longer than I have to, but anyone who does will have to deal with a lot of crazy people soon enough."

Kim spoke up. "What do you mean by that?'

"Kimmie, there are a lot of scared people out there." Shego pointed toward the broken window. "You said that you've only been here a day and just look at them. They're scared. All of them. It won't be long now before those sheep start becoming wolves and turn on each other."

"You're crazy!" Monique spoke up. "Those are people down there."

"They won't be for much longer."

"They're not animals, Shego!" Kim snapped.

Shego stuck up her chin at them. "Give them a while."

"Do you have so little faith in humanity that,"

"Humanity?" Shego cut her off. "Listen, Kim, those _people_ down there will make the monsters outside look tame by comparison in a few hours. Growing up in your secluded piece of Americana, flicking your hair after every mission and saying crap like 'So not the drama' like it's a mantra...well I've got news for you." Shego stepped up to Kim so fast that the redhead physically jumped back. "This is the DRAMA! It isn't just you and the buffoon in the line of fire anymore. When people are scared, they're capable of doing anything, even kill. I've seen it happen and soon so will you."

Kim shook her head. "Not here. Not in Middleton."

Shego smacked her forehead. "Oh God! But you are naive!" She resisted the urge to grab Kim by the shoulders, shaking some sense into her. "People are people. It doesn't matter where they live, the color of their skin, or the size of their bank accounts. If Steven were still awake, I know he'd agree with me."

"Don't compare yourself to him."

But Shego scoffed. "Sweetie, I learned more about him in the short time we dated then you have in four years. He understood the world for what it was. He's seen more of it, the good and the bad, then you and me, and I've been around." Shego lowered her eyes to the floor. "I've seen some things, Kim. Things I wish I could forget." She looked back up. "But what I saw in the mist, nothing I've experienced can compare to it. Drakken and I barely escaped. You've been cooped up here, safe and sound, all this time. You have no idea what's out there."

"Neither do you," Kim said defensively.

"I know more than you. So let me tell you something," Shego placed a hand on her hips. "Those tentacles Ron saw, the bugs, the pterodactyls, the fire, the dead and wounded; one by one, each calamity is going to tear away at the sanity of those fools downstairs. Little by little, they'll start to buckle under the pressure. They'll look for ways to vent that will involve doing things they never imagined themselves doing in their worst nightmares. Look around you, Kim Possible." Shego regarded the room. "This place is a prison." She pointed up. "Out there is death. You put a group of mice in a cage and surround it with hungry lions and any mouse would gladly sacrifice the others if it meant escaping."

"We're not mice."

"Schematics!" Throwing up her hands, Shego turned around. "Think whatever you want, Kimmie. When the shit hits the fan, don't say I told you so."

"Where are you going?" Kim demanded of her enemy.

"To figure a way out of here," Shego entered the waiting room. "This is one mouse that isn't planning to stick around."

"Shego!" Kim followed her. "Ron," she motioned for him to follow her and he did, firing off a dark glare Justine's way while subtly patting his scissors.

Once they were gone, Monique grabbed Bonnie's hand and said, "Tell me everything that happened while I was gone." She glanced at Justine. "Everything."

**KP**

He found her in the very last spot they were together. Actually, Tara had told Josh to meet her in the employees' locker room, the place where she and Kim had their little 'girl talk.' Josh was smart enough to recognize a feint when he saw one. Whatever Kim and Tara spoke about, it somehow involved him and he knew it. Maybe now as Josh's chance to figure out what the hell was going on. Tara had given him the cold shoulder long enough. He was getting frostbite.

Things were, thankfully, quiet in the Smarty Mart and while everyone was on edge, no more attacks from the outside had come. After breakfast, Josh had been approached by Tara who said that she wanted to speak to him about something. She asked to meet him in the locker room in about twenty minutes. Twenty minutes exactly, Josh was knocking on the front door. Given that he was an employee he could have just walked in, privacy be damned. But this was Tara, the girl he cared about. She deserved special treatment.

Josh only hoped she felt the same way.

"Come in, Josh."

Tara was reclining against one of the lockers, her arms crossed and her head down. Above them, the lamp buzzed loudly at odd intervals. She didn't even look up as he entered. Never a good sign, Josh Mankey knew. Tara was usually so open about her feelings. That she was being so reserved around him sent warning lights up in his head. Had he done something, said something, or rather, not_ done_ anything to warrant such aloofness?

"What's up, Tara?" He tried to sound nonchalant, like this was their usual meeting place and there was nothing out of the ordinary. Josh knew he was just fooling himself. Checking to make sure the door was closed before speaking any further, Josh approached his girlfriend. There was a time when he would have just walked up to her and wrap his arms around her, but not this time. This time, Josh knew she wouldn't return the embrace. Something was very wrong.

Forcing herself to look up at him, Tara spoke in as serious a voice as he'd ever heard her speak. "I think we should break up."

Someone just shot Josh Mankey. He stumbled a bit, his breath caught in his throat, and gawked wide-eyed. "What?"

Tara blew out a breath. "I'm so sorry, Josh. I know..." she hugged herself, "I know you don't really need to hear this right now."

"Tara...why?" Josh couldn't stop gawking. "When did this happen? I mean, when did...I mean...why?" He blurted out.

Tara got off the locker. "It's not that I don't like you, Josh. It's just...I don't think we're meant to be together."

"Meant to be together?" Josh blinked his eyes repeatedly. "What does that even mean?"

"It means we're only together because people expect us to be."

Josh opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. "Is that what Kim told you?"

"No, Josh."

"But you spoke to her."

"I did. She convinced me that I needed to tell you how I feel, that I shouldn't keep pretending and just tell you the truth."

"What truth?"

"I just told you."

Josh didn't accept that. "That we're meant to be together? Tara." He approached her. "I _want_ to be with you. You think I give a damn about the stupid Food Chain?"

"It's not about the Food Chain, Josh."

"Then what is it?" He raised his voice, ire growing. "What made you decide to leave me?" He grabbed his Smarty Mart vest. "Is it because of where I work? Huh? You're too embarrassed to let others know that your boyfriend, who's at the top of the Food Chain, is an employee at Smarty Mart?"

"Kim knows."

"Who cares about Kim?" Josh threw up his hands. "Who cares about what anybody thinks. I'm here because I have to be, Tara. Not every family is as well off as yours."

Tara flared at that. "How dare you?"

"How dare I? You're the one who doesn't think I'm good enough for you."

"I do think you're good enough."

"Just not for you." Josh turned towards the locker. "I can't believe this. It's not my fault, Tara. My folks need my help. I thought you'd understand that."

"I do, Josh."

He glared at her. "Then why are you breaking up with me?"

"Because..." she hesitated. Tara had thought about this long and hard and now she had to say it else she might burst at the seams. "Because I don't love you. I never did."

Josh didn't blow up. He didn't react at all. He just stared at her hard and cold.

Tara rubbed her hand. "I'm sorry, Josh. I do care about you. You're a wonderful guy, but...I can't keep this up anymore. I can't go along with what everyone else believes I should be doing. You're the perfect guy, Josh. But you're just not for me."

"Tara, if you dump me like this, you'll be doing _exactly_ what everyone believes you should be doing."

She shook her head. "I was thinking about this long before you started working here. It's just the way I feel, Josh."

"You... or Kim?"

"This isn't about Kim?"

"Oh is it? What about Bonnie? And Hope? Marcella? Liz?" Josh clenched his fist. "Who is it about?"

"It's not about you and me."

"Of course not!" he punched the locker. It hurt like hell but he didn't care. Nothing mattered to a boy when his heart was broken. Tara visibly jumped and stepped back as if afraid of him. Josh made no move to approach her. He was angry, but not enough to hurt his beloved Tara. Seething, Josh spoke through clenched teeth. "It's always been about you." Lowering his arm, Josh collapsed against the locker.

Tara moved toward him, tenuously at first, but then placing a hand on his shoulder. "Josh, I..."

He shrugged her off. "Don't, Tara."

"But I don't want you to hate me."

"How can I?" He looked at her. "You're the first girl who's ever made me feel this way."

Her blue eyes widened at that remark. "Oh Josh."

"Just..." he turned around, unable to look at her. "Just go! I'm not your concern anymore."

Tara wanted to say something else but stopped. She knew it was pointless. Maybe she should have waited. There was no need to hurry this confrontation. She just wanted to get it done with for her sake. Maybe she was like Bonnie, selfish. It was about her just like Josh had said. She did this for herself, not caring for what this would do to him.

"I'm sorry." She stepped away. "I really am."

Josh said nothing.

Slowly, Tara headed for the door. She then stopped in the middle of the room. "I meant what I said. You really are a terrific guy. I guess I'm just not that great a girl." She walked away again.

Josh struggled to keep the tears from flowing. He was so angry and sad at the same time. How could any of this had happened? Why did his life suddenly take such a drastic turn for the worse? What had he done to deserve such mockery?

Above him, the buzzing sound stopped and Josh could clearly hear Tara's footsteps as they approached the door. A part of him wanted to call out to her, to tell her she had made a mistake, that he would change, do anything to stay with her. But Josh's pride wouldn't allow it. Besides, what had he done wrong? Nothing. Tara was just being a stuck-up brat like all the other cheerleaders, Kim Possible included. They were all the same, shallow and self-centered. How could he be stupid enough to allow himself...

Wait. Oscar had that lamp fixed the day before. Why was it acting up all of a sudden? He heard the buzzing sound return in force, really strong now. Josh looked up, noticing for the first time that despite all the buzzing he'd heard, the lamp hadn't been flickering all this time. It was a brand new bulb. The buzzing had subsided somewhat as if it were moving away from him, away from Josh and toward the door. Towards Tara.

Josh looked in her direction. A small shadow had flown across the room and landed on her back. Startled at first, Tara looked around to see Josh's concerned face, her big blue eyes as beautiful as ever. "Josh?"

"Tara..."

Her next reply was a gasp as something dug into her exposed neck, just below the left ear. Tara gawked, eyes and mouth wider than ever before. She stumbled a bit, moving on wobbly legs before her whole body gave way. Falling to her knees, Tara collapsed like tossed sack, her face smacking the concrete floor hard. The thing on her back twitched, removing its poisonous barbed tail from the girl's alabaster skin. The alien dragonfly swiveled its eyes to take in the room, centering on Josh Mankey.

Feeling his anger turn into rage, Josh began to approach the body of his beloved, and her killer. "Tara?" He ran towards her. "Tara!" Charging, Josh didn't care how poisonous that barbed tail was. The insect took flight, but Josh just bashed it out of the air with his naked hand. It plopped against the wall by the door but managed to stay aloft, that is, until Josh physically grabbed it with both hands and threw it to the floor. Like a madman, he began stomping the dragonfly into a black and green pulp, stepping on it repeatedly and so hard that his feet began to ache. Josh didn't care. He wanted it dead. He wanted it to never have existed. He wanted to die instead.

After literally pasting the horrible bug into nothingness, Josh, his legs trembling with pain, stumbled over to where Tara was lying face-first on the floor. He fell to his knees and, reaching for her, gasped when he saw the growing bulge on her neck where the barb had stung her. It was an ugly black thing, made more apparent given that Tara's skin was so white. A red ring formed around it as smaller black bulges began to appear around the big one.

Josh was inconsolable. "Oh my god!" He grabbed her, lifting Tara and turning her around to look into that beautiful face, into eyes that would never open again. He didn't care about the bulge. She was still his beautiful woman. The love of his life. He cried openly.


	9. You call this a Plan?

**Darev: **Fastest update ever, huh? I don't know how much longer I can keep updating like this. This story is much longer than I would have expected and I fear I might be digging myself into a hole here. But like life, you've gotta enjoy things in there here and now and not worry about tomorrow. Though I guess it's that kind of thinking that got the economy in the state it's in now right? LOL.

Not much action in this chapter, but that's because things will happen in the next one. A nice blend of action and plot.

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far.

**KP**

Another gone, Kim thought as they put Tara to rest. When news of her death had reached her, Kim almost believed she hadn't heard right. Last she thought, they had dealt with all the dragonflies that managed to penetrate their defenses. Smarty Mart had been secure. They were safe for the moment. But after seeing Josh carry Tara's limp body out of the employees' locker room, her neck inflated to twice its original size and her creamy-white skin turning an ugly shade of purple and black, it took every ounce of willpower she had not to succumb to her sorrow and break down then and there.

Not that Josh wasn't crying enough for all of them. The boy was inconsolable. Who could blame him? Tara had been the love of his life. He wouldn't let anyone touch Tara, not even her friends, and had to literally be pried away from her less the disease the bug had implanted inside of Tara be transmutable through human touch. It turns out it wasn't, but it did not matter what they did. Tara was already dead long before Josh had even squashed the bug that killed her and none of them had the medical knowledge or the tools to assist her even if she had somehow survived the initial attack.

How the damned bug had even gotten into the locker room was anyone's guess. There was no way it could have opened the heavy door with its scrawny strength and Kim had been assured that there had been nobody hiding in the room when the bugs came. Most of the fighting had transpired far away from the locker room, so it was left to the survivors to figure out the truth less another unfortunate soul succumb to a sneak attack. Oscar had decided to investigate the matter personally. The rest went to pay their final respects to their lost friend, a girl who had so much to live for.

They all gathered at the loading dock, placing Tara's body right next to Patrick, the man who's throat had been ripped apart by the alien pterodactyl. Like, Patrick, a tarp had been placed on Tara's body as she was laid to rest. Even under the tarp they could still make out the distinctive bulge of her neck, as if Tara had been wearing some sort of helmet underneath. It was a sickening sight and all those present had to look away. Only Josh kept looking at her, at his beloved, his body shaking with convulsions and his breathing ragged. There was no way to calm the boy. He'd been there when it happened. He'd watched the bug kill his girlfriend. He was there when she died in his arms. As far as Josh Mankey was concerned, he had died along with Tara.

So it was left to someone else to say the eulogy for Tara Strong. That person was Kim, but try as she might, the words would not come out. She didn't really know what to say. How could she make Tara's death seem like it had been worth something? The girl was killed by a mutant insect from another world. She died quickly, but painfully, and her face was unrecognizable. For once, Kim's overly optimistic attitude had failed her and she could barely stutter out the eulogy. Ron was told her that she could do anything, and that includes failing. Well Kim Possible had been failing a lot lately.

"T-Tara was...my friend," a good start. Standing somewhat to the side and behind Josh, Kim folded her hands before her and tried to speak. "She was a...a very special girl. I'll always remember her laugh, and her smile." She paused. "Tara loved to smile." Behind her, Bonnie, Justine, Ron, Rufus, Monique, Ned, and Felix bowed their heads in respect. Josh kept sobbing, though it was getting weaker. It looked like his body would collapse at any moment.

Kim tried to go on. "I cared for Tara so much. She and I were like..."

"Don't!" That came from Bonnie. Kim turned around to look at her. The brunette's green eyes were flashing, glowering at Kim. "You were not sisters. You weren't BFFs, or girlfriends, or acquaintances." Bonnie stepped forward, pulling Kim back so hard that she almost fell. Wide-eyed, Kim opened her mouth to speak but was stopped when Bonnie shoved her away. "You didn't know Tara!" Bonnie snapped. "None of you did!" She eyed everyone, including Josh. "She was my friend before she knew any of you." She took two steps to Josh, touched him on the shoulder, and in a very uncharacteristic voice, spoke very softly to him. "I knew her better than most, Josh. I can honestly tell you that she cared about you more than I ever saw her care about anyone. What you and she had was special."

Bonnie looked at the body. She was fighting back tears, and losing. "I can't say I was the best sort of friend to Tara. I always teased her, made fun of her, and bossed her around. Yet despite all that, she never stopped being nice to me. That was always Tara's problem, being nice." Bonnie wiped away a tear with her free hand. "I hated her for it."

That made Josh turn to her.

Bonnie stared back. "I think I was kind of jealous of what you two had, you know?" She wiped more tears. "It was special. It was real." Bonnie then glanced at Kim with Ron standing behind her. "I never knew something like that." Back to Josh she said, "I guess I was angry because you took my only friend away from me. Tara and I didn't hang out anymore because she was always with you. You can call it payback. I used to do the same thing when I was dating Brick. But Tara was always there whenever we broke up and got together again. She never judged me or called me stupid, even though I was stupid half the time. She was always good to me. I...I didn't deserve a friend like her."

Bonnie started to cry. "But you did. You did, Josh Mankey." Crying openly, Bonnie said her farewell. "Goodbye, Tara." She turned away and ran, pushing her way through the crowd and running into the aisles.

"I'll follow her." Monique said her goodbyes to her fallen friend and ran after Bonnie. Ned watched her go. He noticed Felix watching Monique leave as well. Their eyes met and something dark passed between them. Ned had been crushing on Monique and when he saw her lying on Felix's lap, however brief, it send waves of jealousy and anger spiraling through him. He thought Felix was his friend, but apparently even wheelchair guys got more booty than him. Why couldn't Felix have stuck with Zita Flores? Why did he have to be with his girl?

For Felix, the feeling was personal. During the dactyls' attack, one of the birds had cornered Felix and was about to rip him to shreds. Felix called out to Ned who had been close by, but the spectacled boy was long gone, leaving Felix to die. If Shego hadn't appeared, he wouldn't be here right now. Felix had no idea why Ned abandoned him. He tried confronting him about it but Ned had avoided him since the fight. Their brief friendship, it seemed, was over.

Their eyes parted when Kim began speaking again, trying to finish her eulogy. Justine remained very silent, but she noticed the hard glares exchanged by the two boys. Perhaps it was something she could exploit for later.

Once Kim had finished, she and the others turned to leave but she stopped to share a few words with Josh. "Take as long as you need, Josh." She touched his arm. "We're all here for y..." Kim gasped when Josh pushed her away. He glared hard at Kim. "Josh?"

"What did you tell her?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You spoke to Tara before, back in the locker room. Why did you tell her to break up with me?"

Kim almost fell backward. "Break up with you? I didn't tell her that."

But Josh wasn't convinced. "She left me, Kim. Before she died, Tara broke up with me. Was I not good enough for her, Kim? Did you and the girls talk about us behind our backs? Did you convince her that she was better off without me?"

"No! Josh, I didn't tell her to break up with you!" She looked at the corpse. "Tara told me she was _thinking_ of breaking up with you. I told her to tell you how she really felt, to take your feelings into account, and not to drag you along because it wasn't fair to you."

"Well she listened."

"What?"

"She took your advice." He looked away. "When Kim Possible speaks, everybody listens."

"That's not fair, Josh."

"Fair! My girl is dead and you want to talk to me about fair?"

"She was my friend."

"That's why she listened to you. She did what you told her to do!"

Kim's face turned red. "I didn't tell her to do anything! God, Josh, I'm on your side here."

"On my side?" He turned on her. "Then why didn't you tell her to stay with me?"

"It was her choice!" Kim couldn't believe they were having this argument. "I didn't want Tara to break up with you."

"What did you want, Kim? Huh? What did you and the rest of the girls on the cheer squad want?" He stepped up to her. "Tara followed the Food Chain, which meant she did what everyone else wanted her to do. You and those tramps on the squad control the Food Chain. So what did you and your friends say that made Tara feel I was no longer up to her standards?"

"We didn't say or do anything." Kim balled her fists. "You're angry, Josh. You lost someone you loved and I'm sorry. But lashing out at your friends won't help matters."

"We're not friends."

"Hate me all you want, Josh." Kim tilted her head towards Tara. "But know that she wouldn't want this for you. Right now, we need you. Everyone needs you. Hate me if that will make you feel any better but please, don't make this all about you because it's not. We're all in this together."

He scoffed. "Not all of us." He looked at Tara's body.

Kim lowered her head. "I'm so sorry."

"Leave me alone." Josh turned away from her fully now.

Normally Kim would have pursued the issue, but these were not normal times. Sighing, she turned to leave Josh alone with Tara. Looking over her shoulder, Kim whispered that she was sorry again and left, back to the hell that was Smarty mart.

**KP**

"Hang in there, Doc. You hear me?" Shego hadn't left Drakken's side since the interrogation. She was pleased that Kim and her posse were somewhere else for this was one thing she did not want them to see. Despite her cold outlook on Dr. Drakken, the woman genuinely cared about him. Not in a romantic way, for Shego was far too independent, and smart, to fall in love. Drakken was about as attractive as a bulldog and had the same sexual appeal, and lord knows his personality was next to the shitter at the best of times. Since she'd started working with him, he had been nothing but a pain in her ass; annoying, nosy, arrogant, incompetent, stubborn, accident-prone, incapable of performing the simplest tasks because he had a tendency to overcomplicate them. The man was a born nuisance.

Yet looking at him now, all weak and near death, Shego's heart could not help but sink at the thought of the very real possibility that he might die of his injuries. The last thing she remembered was how Drakken had seemed more concerned for her well-being than his own while the mist monsters were attacking them. Shego hated that fatherly trait about him. She already had a father figure that didn't work out and all his needless concern for her made Shego feel like he was smothering her. She often gave him the business for it, except that this time she could not help but be moved. If the situation were reversed, Shego had no doubt that Drakken would have dragged Shego's body all the way to Smarty Mart and beyond just to get her to safety. He cared about her that much that he would forgo his life if it meant that Shego would live.

"You're an idiot, Doc," Shego said, keeping the wavering out of her voice despite the fact that Drakken could not hear her. "I told you we should have just left when we had the chance. But no." She felt his neck, feeling for his pulse. It was weak but there. She knew that Drakken needed help and soon. "You just couldn't keep your nose out of everyone's business." Shego sighed. "For once I wished you'd listened to me. Now look at you, all dying."

She bit her lip. "Drakken, I swear to whatever powers have made my life a living hell since the day that comet destroyed my brothers' tree house that if you die, I will kill you. Do you hear me? I will kill you!" Softness crept into her voice. "Please, Doc. We've still got so much work to do." She chuckled. "Who's going to listen to my snarky remarks when you're not around, huh? Whose plans am I going to make fun of? Who's going to drive me up the wall with all his senseless ranting and cocoa moo and Friday night karaoke?" She was kneeling by the couch now, concern plastered on her pale face. "What's more, who's going to keep me employed. I could never manipulate anyone like I could you, Doc. You just made it too easy. As far as bosses go, you were the best. Rich and dumb, just how I like them."

She used a towel to pad his head dry. The fever was slowly returning. Shego didn't kid herself. Drakken would get worse before his time came. She didn't want this to be her final memory of him. Turning, Shego sat herself down against the couch and hugged her legs. "You know, Dr. D, if you kick the bucket, that means I get all your stuff. Can you imagine what I'd do with the old haunt? I'd redecorate it, of course. Put up some new carpeting and some curtains, all green, of course. I think I'd sell your inventions on e-bay, make a pretty penny while I was at it." She pinched her lip. "I think I'd turn your room into a sauna. What do you think about that?"

He said nothing obviously.

"Or maybe a rec room. The boys have been bugging you about an updated recreational facility. If you ask me, a gym would do them wonders, sweat off a few pounds." She scratched her chin. "Or how about a movie theater? No wait!" She perked up. "A daycare center?"

Drakken actually fidgeted in his couch.

Shego chuckled. "Yeah. I hate kids too." She looked back at him. "So you'd better wake up soon, Doc, else who knows what I'll do with the place." Shego heard footsteps coming up the stairs. "Guess Kim and company are coming back." She stood up. "Thanks for the talk, Dr. D. It helped."

Standing up, Shego composed herself before the room got too crowded. The last thing she needed was these Middleton kids thinking she'd gone soft. A little glare, a small sneer and they'd be back to quaking in their pants all over again. A villainess had to keep up appearances after all. It turned out to be Oscar who had been coming up the stairs, the portly man looking exhausted with bags under his eyes. "Where's Kim?"

"I'm fine, by the way. Thanks."

Looking embarrassed-Shego was an attractive woman-Oscar dipped his head in apology while scratching his neck. "Sorry, ma'am."

"It's Shego. Ma'am makes me sound old."

"You don't look it."

"Gee, thanks," she responded half-heartedly. Great, now Mr. Rogers was infatuated with her. Sometimes Shego wondered which was more dangerous, her beauty or her powers. "Kim's not back yet. She and the Breakfast Club went to bury their friend."

Oscar became sad. "Such a shame. She was such a young girl."

"She was a young woman," Shego corrected.

"Still...to lose someone at that age, it's just terrible."

Shego shrugged. "I'll tell Kimmie you stopped by." She turned around.

"Uh, Miss Go?"

She turned back. "_Shego_!" She snapped, almost flaring up. The last thing Shego wanted to be reminded of was that horrendous alter ego of her that pocked up during the attitudinator episode. "The name is Shego."

Oscar apologized again. "Sorry. I never spoke to a world-renowned villain before. It'll take some getting used to."

"Don't get too used to it, buddy boy. The doc and I won't be staying much longer."

Oscar gawked at that. "You're leaving?"

"Soon as Kim gets back, I'm taking Dr. D and getting my fine ass out of here."

"But you can't go out there. It's dangerous."

"I know that better than you."

"But the kids. They need you."

Shego raised an eyebrow at that. "Come again?"

"Steven was a strong authority figure around here. With him down it's just me, and I'm not exactly the confidence-instilling type."

No argument there, Shego thought.

"You're Kim's nemesis. Everyone knows you. But after seeing how you handled those pterodactyls, your powers could be a real help to us. Kim respects you. I've heard how she talks about you. With you two working together, we can keep everyone safe until help arrives."

Shego chuckled aloud. "Look, Ozie, help isn't coming anytime soon and you're going to have a lot more to worry about than big gray tweetie birds before it gets here. Like I told Kim, this place and everyone in it is going to hell in a hand basket and I'm not sticking around when that happens."

"So you'd just up and leave? Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"You'd abandon us?"

Shego shrugged at him. "Villain."

"I don't believe that."

That did not amuse Shego. She raised a taloned glove. "Come again?"

"You said you were taking your blue friend here with you. If you were really a bad person, you'd just leave him behind. He'd just slow you down out there."

Damn. For all his apparent white breadedness, this Oscar fellow was sharper than he looked. One day Shego would have to stop judging books by their covers. She missed out on a lot of good reads that way. "I could use him as bait," she began, "toss him to the first monsters I see and escape while they're chewing him away."

Not fooled, Oscar shook his head. "You could have done that before. Instead you carried him here with wounded leg. You risked your life to save his, just as I'm sure he'd have done the same for you. Trust me when I say this, young lady. I've seen true evil and you aren't it."

"What?" Shego flared her hands, gathering plasma.

Oscar was not afraid, though he did hold up his hands to signal that he meant no offense. "Don't take it the wrong way. You are scary." That settled her down a bit. "But compared to the things I've seen, you're practically a saint."

Shego flared up again.

"And that's my cue." Oscar turned and left the waiting room.

Alone again, Shego powered down and looked at Dr. Drakken. "Can you believe that guy? What does he know about me?" She placed her hands on her hips. Turning around, Shego fired a remark Barkin's way. "You know how bad I can get, right Stevie?"

Like Drakken, Barkin was unable to reply.

Shego sighed. "Typical. I'm alone with a couple of guys and they're both a couple of stiffs."

**KP**

Sitting on the sink counter, Bonnie watched as Kim and Ron observed the dead specimen she and Justine had dragged back from the loading dock. Ron kicked it a couple of times to make sure it was dead, which earned him a reprimand from Kim. Rufus was on the floor. He sniffed it a couple of times and pulled his nose away, gagging. Well what did the stupid animal expect? Bonnie thought. It was a dead animal. Even if it was from another dimension.

"It was designated specimen 34183," Justine said. She and Felix were by the door. After carefully observing the dead beast, Felix had pulled back to gather his thoughts. Outside, Monique and Ned were on guard duty, allowing the others privacy in case a bystander should be walking by. "From what little I was able to pull off the space center mainframe, it's actually able to glide across the air while inflating its body. While on land, it uses its legs to skitter along."

"Like a cockroach," Ron said.

"Thank for the imagery, Ron!" Kim had been kneeling beside it when Ron said that, and she jumped back, the image of a dead giant cockroach stuck in her head. "As if it weren't bad enough."

"How did it die again?" Felix asked Justine.

She shrugged. "Like I said, it was dying when Bonnie and I found it."

"Why?" Ron asked.

Shrugging again, "Couldn't tell you."

"Can't or won't?" The boy pressed, his hand never far from his scissors.

"I don't know," Justine told him sternly.

"That's a first."

Looking at Bonnie, Justine fired back. "When you have something worthwhile to contribute to this conversation, we will speak to you. In the meantime, why don't you go get us some refreshments?" Justine waved her off like some servant.

"Bite me, Flanner."

Ignoring Bonnie, Justine turned to Felix, the closest thing to a peer she had in the entire group. "No offense, Felix, but if I couldn't figure it out,"

"It suffocated."

Everyone looked at him then. Thinking aloud, Felix said, "It was in the air vents when you found it, right?" Both Justine and Bonnie nodded. "Then maybe it slowly suffocated to death." Felix rolled his chair toward the kite monster and pointed. "You see those pores lining the lower end of its body? At first I thought they were suction cups but now I'm thinking they might be blowholes of a sort."

"You mean how it breathes?" Kim asked.

"Yeah."

Ron crossed his arms. "Newsflash, Felix. Those birds and bugs were able to breathe inside the store no problem. They sure didn't look like they needed a respirator."

"Prolonged exposure to our air, perhaps? That thing might have been trapped in the vent and couldn't find a way out. Cut off from its natural environment, it must have suffocated and was in its death throes when the girls found it."

"How long do you think?" Kim asked him.

"Couldn't tell you. Probably a while. The mist had covered the store for a few hours before it fell out of the vent."

Ron began to scratch his chin. Seeing this, Rufus began to wave to get his attention. The mole rat began to wriggle around like a tentacle. "Right, Rufus."

"Um...weird much?" Bonnie told him. "We' don't all speak rodent, Stoppable."

For her sake, Ron ignored the comment. "Before the tentacles attacked the loading dock, Oscar said that something had clogged the ventilation shaft from the outside. This thing might have gotten itself caught and could not escape, which caused the generator to overheat and shut off all the lights."

"But what was it doing there to begin with?" Kim asked him.

"I don't know about you, KP, but if giant tentacles were and flying raptors were all over the place, I'd try to find the deepest, darkest hole I could find and hide. It was probably trying to find shelter or something."

"And instead wound up dying in its hole," Justine surmised. "Both logical theories, gentlemen." She nodded to Felix and Ron, sounding impressed. "So here's a question: will the same happen to us if we breathe the mist outside?"

"Wait a minute!" Bonnie shot off the counter. "Doesn't all our air come from the outside? That means the mist is seeping in through the vents and we've been breathing it all along!"

Ron shook his head. "We have a system that recycles the air to make sure it's fresh. There used to be a coal mine near here almost a hundred years ago. When the newer buildings were put up, the engineers made sure to include the system to as to clean the air that was poisoned by the fumes from the mines. We still use it, though it's a more updated version."

That settled the brunette a bit.

"I remember people screaming," Felix began, "when the mist came. Could they have been poisoned by the cloud?"

Ron shook his head. "When Vinnie opened up the loading door, some of the mist seeped in. None of us had any breathing problems though..." he paused, remembering Junior's screams. "Breathing was the last thing on our minds then."

Kim wanted to comfort him, but Justine got in the way, literally. "Regardless, we still can't see through the mist. Our eyes aren't large enough."

"Those birds and bugs had pretty big eyes," Bonnie said.

"True, Bonnie. But I suspect they rely less on sight and more through other senses."

"How so?" Felix asked and watched Justine approach the dead kite monster. She kneeled beside it.

"Those pores you pointed out, look how big they are. I'll be this kite thing used them to smell its prey from above before swooping down on it."

"Those dactyls did a lot of swooping," Ron said. "And the dactyl that killed Patrick did seem to sniff him out."

"That's it!" Kim smacked her hand with her fist. "That's how they see in the mist! They hunt through smell."

That's when it hit Ron. "The giant tentacle! It was sniffing when it entered the loading door." Then he said. "That's why none of them came at me while I was fighting to save Junior. They smelled his blood and it drove them into a frenzy. They didn't attack the rest of us because they didn't know we were there." So Junior had just been unlucky. That first tentacle had merely been feeling around the way a human would his fingers underneath the couch. Junior happened to be nearby so it grabbed him. The poor, unlucky fool.

"Fascinating," Justine said.

Ron glared at her. The memory of that attack still haunted him. To think she cared more about the discovery than the lives lost to the mist was aggravating. Rufus hopped on his shoulder and Ron settled down. Now was not the time to punish Justine for her indiscretions. Not yet.

"So if we can somehow mask our scent, then maybe we can sneak past the monsters without them ever knowing." An idea came to Kim then.

Bonnie saw it. "Why we sneak..." Her eyes bulged. "Kim! You're not seriously thinking of going out there are you?"

"Drastic times, Bonnie."

"She's gone psycho!"

"Scream louder, Bonnie," Justine chastised.

"But it's true."

"Not it isn't." Kim walked toward Bonnie. "A group of us can leave the Smarty Mart and go for help. All we have to do is figure out a way to hide our scent from the those things and we should be okay." Seeing all the arguments about to erupt, Kim motioned everyone to be silent. "Guys! I don't need to tell how tough things are getting. We lost two people in that last attack. Anymore and the others are going to freak out. I can't guarantee another one of those things won't get in here, or something worse."

She looked at each of their faces. "Look, I know we're all scared. We have no idea what's waiting for us out there. But we can't stay here forever. Dr. Drakken and Mr. Barkin will die if they don't get help soon. I don't plan on letting them down. I'm going to help them by finding someone who can save their lives."

"How?" Justine asked.

"Middleton General. We can find a doctor and bring him or her back with us."

"And you're planning on transporting this savior by..." Justine pressed.

"The sloth," Ron told her. "It's the safest vehicle in the state of Colorado. Maybe the whole country."

But Bonnie walked in the middle of the group, holding up her hands in a giant T. "Time out! Your car? The same car you parked on the other side of the freaking lot? That car?" She waited for Kim to confirm her inquires. "It may as well be on Pluto! Who knows how many of those things," she gestured at the kite monster, "_these_ things are out there? It's suicide to even try."

"It's suicide not to," Felix said. "Bonnie, we have to do something."

"Look!" She waved everyone to be quiet. "Say you somehow manage to reach that crapbox of yours."

"The sloth."

"Whatever, Possible. You reach the _sloth_. Then what? You drive all the way to Middleton General through the _mist_. Those things may be able to see using their noses but you can't."

"She has a point," Justine said, reluctantly.

But Kim was smiling. "My brothers equipped the sloth with gear that enable me to see through various spectrums. Infrared, night-vision, you name it. The mist won't slow me down."

"But those monsters might! It may not be a bug or a bird next time, Kim." Bonnie pointed at Ron. "What if it's that thing that killed Junior? Is your car a tank? Can it morph into some giant Gundam robot wielding a laser sword?"

Ron glanced at her, shocked. "How do you know about Gundam?"

"Shut, it loser!" To Kim Bonnie said, "And say you do reach the hospital? What if it's overrun? There might not be anyone left for you to bring back?"

"It's a chance I have to take, Bonnie. We all do?"

"We?"

Kim nodded. "If the mission is successful, I plan to go to GJ headquarters and bring back some heavy firepower."

"GJ?"

"I'll fill you in later. Suffice it to say they're government people with guns. Lots of guns. If we can round up enough transport then we can take get everyone out of here. Once the people are safe," Kim held up a fist, "I'm going to the space center and shutting the Arrowhead Project down once and for all."

"Not without me you're not!" Justine spat. "It's my invention. I deserve to be there."

Kim was in no mood to argue right now. "We'll discuss if after Ron and I get back from Middleton General. First we get the doctors. Then the soldiers and transport."

"Sounds like a plan, KP." For the first time, Ron looked like his old self again. Kim was happy.

Bonnie crossed her arms. "I hope you don't expect me to go with you."

"I expect you to be you, Bonnie. Besides, we can't take too many people with us. We need to save room for the one or two doctors that will accompany us back from the hospital."

"We can always put her in the trunk." Ron gestured toward Bonnie, to which she raised her finger at him.

Kim smiled. "Maybe Shego will agree to come with us. We could use the extra firepower."

"You think she'll leave Drakken behind?"

"She's scared and angry, Ron. This will be a good way for her to let off some steam."

"On us or the monsters?"

"Both." Kim looked around. "Now, how do we go about disguising ourselves?"

**KP**

"Sounds like they have a lot to talk about," Monique said from outside the restroom. She was standing by the door like some bouncer. Ned was staying quiet on the other side and hadn't so much as looked at her once. How Monique wished she were inside. She was starting to feel less like a member of Kim's inner circle and more like an outsider.

"Ned."

He didn't answer.

"Hey, Ned!"

He snapped out of his stupor. "Huh?"

"Didn't you hear what I said?" She raised her voice, irritated. It was bad enough her BFF wasn't including her in everything, now a nerd was omitting her as well. "What's up with you? You're distracted."

"I am?"

"Yes, Ned. Something bothering you?"

Ned rubbed his arm.

"I'll take that as a yes. Look, if we're going to play bouncer, the least we can do is keep each other entertained."

"E-Entertained?" He said almost expectantly.

"You know...talk. As in exchange ideas and information? Anything to keep away the boredom."

"You're bored?"

"What is wrong with you, boy?"

"Nothing's wrong with me?" Ned turned defensive. "Just leave me alone." He turned his back to her.

"Being alone is all you seem to do. Geez, Ned. Don't flip out on me."

"I'm not flipping out!" He shot over at her.

"Don't get lippy with me, buddy." Monique approached him. "Seriously, Ned. What's bothering you?"

Ned sighed. "Everything, Monique. This place. The monsters." He lowered his voice. "You."

"What's that last part?"

"Nothing." He moved away from the wall, away from Monique. Ned walked a distance before saying what was on his mind. "Monique, is there something going on between you and Felix?"

A small wind could have bowled her over at that point. "Say what?"

"I saw you sitting on his lap when we were attacked." Turning to her slowly, Ned said, "Are you two more than friends?"

"Hell no!" She covered her mouth, glancing left and right before speaking again. "Ned! What makes you think I'm with Felix? He's my boy, but not like that." She looked once at the door where Kim and the others were still talking. "I slipped on a bug and Felix was there to catch me. That's it!" She stepped back. "Wait. Why do you care who I'm with?"

"Are you with anyone?"

"No. Do I look like I need someone?"

"So you're not dating anyone?"

"I never dated anyone!" There was a time when Wade, Kim's horny little geek, had brainwashed her with a cupid ray, but that didn't count. Besides, Ned need not know about that embarrassing chapter in her life. "Ned, are you crushing on me?"

He turned around, embarrassed.

"Oh boy!" Monique rolled her eyes. "Listen, Ned,"

She never got to finish that sentence as Oscar came running up to them. "Monique, is Kim in there?"

"The whole gang's in there, Oscar. Except for us." She motioned to Ned. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to give Kim an update on what's going on. Is she busy?"

Monique shrugged. "Couldn't tell you."

"Oh. Okay then. You mind if I..."

"Go ahead."

"Thanks." Oscar excused himself and entered the room.

Turning back to Ned who was still looking away from her, Monique tapped him on the shoulder. "Ned, you're cool and all and I like you, really. But you see I'm kind of a loner and I haven't met the right guy yet. Not that you're the wrong guy. Just not my guy. You get me?"

"No, Monique." He turned to her. "I don't get you. That's the problem." He turned to walk away.

"Smooth, Mon," she said to herself. "Real smooth."

**KP**

Once Kim and the others made a plan, they existed the restroom, leaving Oscar to hide the dead kite-thing in one of the stalls, and walked towards the head of the store. Shego was standing beside one of the counters and staring out the windows. The mist blocked all view.

"Shego," Kim came up to her. "I've got a plan. We,"

"Go out and try to bring back help," Shego finished for her.

"Uh, yeah. How did you know?"

"Because it's what I was telling you all along." Shego stood up straight. "And it's the only logical thing we can do."

"You never said we should go out."

"I said we can't stay here. Therefore, logic would dictate that we..." Shego paused, waiting for Kim to finish the sentence.

Kim did not take the bait. "Look, we're going to use my car. It's on the north side of the parking lot and is the safest vehicle on the road. But first we need to disguise ourselves."

"Come again?"

Kim smirked. "We figured that the mist monsters track their food by scent. It's too dark to see anything so if we can hide our smell then we can get by without them ever knowing."

"You're sure about that?"

Kim shrugged.

"That's not being sure."

She did it again.

"And if it doesn't work?"

She did it a third time.

"Dammit, Princess! There you go again being half-cocked, going it without a plan. That's always been your biggest problem."

"It's been enough to defeat you and Drakken."

Shego grumbled. "Okay. Point taken." Then she said, "But you're not dealing with Drakken this time. Those things out there aren't Jack Hench's goons or Monty's monkey ninja brigade. They don't think like we do. If they think at all. You're basing your entire plan on a big assumption and that's a sure-fire way to get yourself killed."

"It's the only plan we've got."

"What plan?" Shego cried. "You never have a plan!"

"Shego!" Kim urged her to calm down. The others were talking by themselves a bit down. Urging Shego to follow her, Kim led her to the window. "Look out there, Shego. What do you see?"

The villain did as Kim suggested and shook her shoulders. "Is this a trick question?"

"What do you see?"

"Nothing, that's what."

"That's not what I see." Kim looked out. "I see an obstacle that's preventing me from saving lives. If I want to help these people, then I have to nut up and do what I think is best for everyone. I won't let this beat me, Shego. Too many people are counting on me."

Shego sighed. "This isn't about you, Kim."

"You're right." She looked back at the store, to the patrons. "This is about them. You said they will all go crazy if we don't do something. Well, after thinking on it, I think you're right." Kim lowered her voice. "Josh is starting to lose it."

"Josh?"

"The boy whose girl just died. He and Tara were dating before this happened. I was in the back with him and he turned on me, like he blamed me for what happened to Tara."

"He attacked you?" Shego asked with a hint of concern.

"No. But he wanted to. I could see it in his eyes."

"Stupid kid."

"He's angry, Shego. I've known Josh for almost three years and I've never seen him act like this. It's not just him either." She motioned for Shego to follow her gaze towards the group. "Ron's starting to lose his mind. He lost a boy to a mist monster while trying to save him and hasn't been the same since. You saw him in the manager's room. He was threatening Justine with a pair of lawn scissors. The Ron I know would never threaten anybody. And Justine," she regarded the blonde. "She's so bent on getting back at my dad that she's willing to turn this whole store against me." Kim turned back to Shego. "One by one, people I've known my whole life are starting to lose themselves." She hugged herself like she was cold. "It's only been one day, Shego. One day and my friends are going crazy."

"I told you s..." Shego stopped as Kim put a finger to her lips, cutting her off.

"What I'm trying to say is," Kim removed her finger, "that it won't be long before everyone in the Smarty Mart starts doing the same. We have more than a hundred people trapped in here, Shego. They need to get out. I can't wait for something worse to happen. I have to act." She said, "We have to act."

"What's this we?"

"Two words: Drew Lipsky."

Shego sighed.

"Look, I get my car, drive it back here, then you, me, and Ron head over to Middleton General and bring back an ambulance with a few doctors. We leave them here where they take care of Drakken and Mr. Barkin before heading out to Global Justice. It's an underground head quarters which means they're more than safe from the mist. We rally the troops, arm ourselves to the teeth, and garner enough transport to take everyone out of Middleton. That sound like a plan to you?" Kim asked smugly.

But Shego was a woman accustomed to finding flaws in plans. She'd made it a habit with Drakken. "New flash, Princess." She crossed her shoulders. "You're assuming that there's still anyone left at Middleton General. What if we get there and there's nobody around?"

"It's the safest place in Middleton."

"I'm sure they said the same thing about the space center." She smirked, seeing Kim wince. "And Global Justice and Smarty Mart."

"We're safer than a lot of people out there."

"Uh-huh." Then Shego asked, "Does going to the hospital have anything to do with a certain red-haired lady Possible that you're very close to?"

"If you're talking about my mom,"

"I am."

Kim fumed. "The hospital is one of the most secure facilities in the city. If there was an emergency, she'd take my brothers there and hunker down."

"Why not stay at home? I thought your house was the safest place in the city."

Kim winced again. She remembered the gaping hole in her room. "It's been...compromised."

"How so?"

"Never mind that, Shego! It's a plan."

"If you say so." Seeing Kim glower, Shego stepped back. "Look, Kim, I can spend all day poking holes in this so-called plan of yours. Though I'll admit it's better thought out that one of Drakken's schemes, there's still too many variables. What if the ambulance is attacked on the way back? What if there aren't any doctors with surgical knowledge? Last I checked, Mama Possible's specialty was the brain, not burnt or serrated tissue to the chest, face, and arms. What if the hospital is swamped with people or so undermanned that they can't afford to send people back with us? What if it's been destroyed or under attack when we get there? Can we fight out way through hordes of monsters? The roads could be jammed or so damaged we can't get through."

"We'll deal, Shego."

"Deal?" Shego towered over Kim. "Did you forget about that electromagnetic interference that knocked out my hovercar? It might have done the same to your precious car."

"The tweebs installed a protective shield to keep that from happening."

"So your car is safe, but what about the ambulance?" Shego's voice was so high now that the group had turned to look at them. "Do hospital vehicles have the same capabilities? Because if not, it's going to be a crowded trip, and I don't ride in the back."

Kim had finally had it. Growling, the redhead stepped up to Shego. "Do you want to save Drakken or not?" She actually got on her tiptoes to shout in Shego's face, her thin body trembling with agitation. Kim was doing everything in her power to save the day and here Shego was making the situation less hopeful with her endless pessimism. "Well?"

Shego spoke softly. "You know I do."

"Well our chances of saving him are better if you work with us. So how about a little less 'tude and a little more suggestions on how we can make that happen?"

Shego wanted to argue. It was in her nature. Finally she decided that, for once, this was an argument she could not win. Besides, it's not like she had any other alternatives. "Fine." Shego put some distance between her and Kim. "But if things go to shit, I reserve the right to say I told you so. Got it?"

Kim agreed with a nod.

"So how do we disguise ourselves?"

Kim turned a shade of green. "We have an idea." To Shego she said, "But you're not going to like it."

**KP**

"You're right. I don't like it," Shego said to Kim a few minutes later. "I _hate_ it!"

"Stop whining," Kim said, though her voice sounded like it was the one whining. She held her breath as she plastered another slab of blood on her sleeve, forcing down the impulse to gag while she was at it. "Oh God."

"KP, as far as crazy ideas go, this one is sick and wrong!" Ron kept coughing excessively as he coated himself with the monster's blood. Rufus kept a safe distance from him, waving the air in front of his nose as he said "P.U."

Standing by the door and holding her stomach, Monique watched the trio coat themselves in the blue-black blood of the alien kite monster. Ron had opened it up using the lawn scissors and he and the ladies began dabbing their clothes in its blood to mask their scent. "Are you sure about this, Kim?"

"This way, the monsters will think we're one of them and leave us alone," Kim said. "That kite thing is pretty big. I don't think there are too many things out there that would mess with it."

"Tentacles," Ron gagged, referring to the beast he first saw.

"He's right, Kim," Monique said. "We figured this thing must have been hiding from whatever that tentacle monster was. Who knows what other biggies are out there."

"We just need to mask ourselves long enough until we've reached the sloth. Once we're safely inside, we can worry about changing our clothes later."

"Changing? Does it look like I'm carrying a pair of jeans on this catsuit?" Shego asked. "God, Kim. This reeks!"

Ron finished dabbing himself in monster blood and stepped back to observe himself in the mirror. He was covered from head to toe, looking like he'd just jumped into a pool of goo in one of those crazy kids shows. "How do I smell, Rufus?"

The mole rat gagged.

"I'll take that as a good sign."

Shego just finished and looked up. "I swear, Kim, I will get you back for this. Someday. Somehow."

Kim turned to the mirror, standing beside Ron. "Well, I guess we're good to go."

Watching the three of them, Monique didn't look convinced. She looked downright worried. "Kim, I really don't think this is a good idea."

"We have to do something, Monique. When people see we're doing more than just sitting around and waiting for help, it will give them hope."

"But they look to you for protection. If you leave, who will look after them?"

"Not me, that's for sure," Shego said.

"You and the gang can hold the fort while we're gone. We'll be back as soon as possible, so don't worry."

Ron, glancing once at Rufus, mouthed, "Don't worry, she says." To his reflection he said, "I look like a greased-up piece of chicken."

"We do need a sacrificial lamb." Shego smacked him behind the head. "You always made a good distraction, Stoppable. I'm sure you'll come in handy."

Rubbing his head, Ron walked away from Shego. He watched Monique retreat as he approached, holding her nose. "I envy you, Mon. Keep the home fires burning until we get back."

"He's right, Monique. You're in charge until we get back." Kim wanted to put a hand on her friend's shoulder to reassure her, but she knew Monique wouldn't touch her with a ten-foot pole right now. Covered in monster blood, Kim just smiled at her instead, her red hair matted to her smeared face. "I know you'll be okay."

The three of them, plus Monique left the restroom. Outside, Oscar, Bonnie, Justine and Felix were waiting for them.

"I really don't think you should go," Oscar began. "It's too dangerous."

"Danger's my middle name," Ron told him.

"It is?"

"Actually it's Ezekiel."

Bonnie rushed up to Kim. "Kim! Are you deranged? What you're doing is suicide!" Then she covered her nose. "Ugh! What is that?"

"Um...monster blood. It's the thing I told you we were covering ourselves with." Kim shook her head.

"It's terrible!"

"Doy." Kim led the troupe towards the front of the mall where a small crowd had gathered. News of her expedition had become public knowledge and everyone was on edge.

Felix rolled next to Ron, covering his nose. "I'm rooting for you, Ron-man. Just make sure to come back in one piece."

"Don't worry, Felix. I've got Kim and Shego with me. What could happen?"

Walking behind them, Shego rolled her eyes. "Had to say it!"

Ron smirked. "Don't worry, Shego. I'll protect you."

"Protect me?"

"Careful, Ron." Felix looked back at her. "She seems more dangerous than the monsters."

"Bad for the monsters then." Ron joined Kim at the front and turned to regard the crowd. They were joined by Shego who couldn't help but wrinkle her nose at how terrible she smelled.

"You'll die out there," Justine told Kim. "You do know that, don't you?"

Kim resisted the urge to say, "We'll die in here" and focused solely on the girl in front of her. "We have to do this, Justine. Trust me on this."

"You'll forgive me if I have a hard time trusting Possibles."

"Justine, we'll deal with the disruptor issue later, right when we're not busy trying to stay alive. Until then, I expect you to help Monique and Oscar keep this place up and running until we get back."

"So Monique's in charge?" Justine raised an eyebrow.

"Who did you think I'd put in command? You? Bonnie?"

"I heard that, Kim!"

Kim smiled at her rival. "Stay safe, Bonnie."

Scoffing, the brunette crossed her arms and looked away, not caring that the crowd was looking at her make a scene.

Kim addressed the crowd. "Listen up, people! We're going to get help. I need you guys to hold down the fort until we get back. Don't worry. Everything will be fine."

"Famous last words," Shego muttered.

"I know everyone' scared of the mist. Just say inside and nothing will happen. Remember that the monsters attacked during the night. If we move during the day, we should be alright." Kim added that last part on a whim, not knowing anything at all about the creatures' hunting habits. It was a sound theory and Kim noticed that many of the people did nod their heads and seemed contented by her reasoning. Still, more than a few worried murmurs filled the air. "I promise you, we're going to get through this. We're Middleton! We're Maddogs!" She pumped her fist. "We're going to survive!"

This wasn't Middleton High School. This wasn't a football game and Kim wasn't in her cheerleading outfit. What this was is a very tense situation and no manner of optimism would lift the veil of darkness from the people's hearts. A few did offer some half-hearted cheers and a few claps, but no jovial outburst like Kim was trying to make. Monique looked around at all the scared faces. She told Kim this would happen. They looked to Kim for protection. She was their savior, their town hero. For her to leave now was a drain on their reserves. Monique would trade places with her if she weren't so scared herself.

Lowering her fist, Kim smiled at everyone. "See you all soon." She glanced at each of her friends and classmates in turn.

"Good luck," Monique said.

Kim, Ron, Rufus, and Shego turned towards the entrance. Oscar had made sure to clear a way through the barricade before their departure. Standing in front of doors. Kim took a deep breath. "Okay, guys. Once more into the breach."

"Kim, shut up." Shego spat as they walked towards the door. It slid open and when it shut they were still holding their breaths.

Only when she couldn't hold it anymore did Kim let it out and stay still. She wasn't gasping for breath or falling down dead from poison so at least it was breathable, for the moment, anyway. The mist permeated everything. Kim couldn't a foot in front of her and it felt like a soft blanket was tickling her face and clothes. It smelled dank, like the inside of a shack, but other than that there was nothing that made it smell like an alien world. Kim looked from side to side, barely able to make out Ron and Shego's images in the mist. When she spoke, it was barely above a whisper. "Maybe we should hold hands." Kim felt Ron's hand in hers a moment later. To her left she said, "Shego?"

"I'm right here." She was whispering too, and Shego's hand clamped down on Kim's arm, vice-like.

"That's not my hand."

"You'll have to kiss me first, cupcake."

Sighing-and even that sounded loud-Kim resisted the urge to look back inside for she might lose her nerve. Rufus huddled inside Ron's pocket, not so much as poking his little head out. Kim could feel the mole rat's shaking travel up Ron's side and through his hand.

"Follow me." Kim took a step forward and entered the mist.


	10. Into the Mist

**Darev:** Third update in a week. I haven't written this much in a long time. Don't think I can keep this pace up, however, so I'll need to take a break. Besides, I have to start preparing for an interview. One never knows when one might hear the phrase "you're hired" and in this economy that's saying a lot.

Finally out in the mist, Kim and company get their first real taste of what it's like in enemy territory for once. Though they have an expected guest accompany them along for the ride. A couple of close calls and a surprise rescue put this as one of the most exciting chapters to date.

Thanks for all the reviews, guys. And a special thanks to Cerberus 13 for getting this fic up to 60 reviews!

**KP**

"This is the stupidest idea I've ever been a part of," Shego muttered.

"Shh!" Kim said beside her, though the raven-haired woman couldn't even begin to see her face. The mist shrouded everything. Shego could barely see her hand gripping Kim's forearm, resisting the urge to dig her gloves claws into the soft flesh and rend it, a payback for putting her life in danger. Of course Shego was no stranger to danger. It was the closest thing to a lover she had. But she was one used to being in control. Putting herself in a situation in which she had no idea she could get out of unharmed was unsettling to her. Shego had no idea what they'd be up against out here. She didn't know how to fight this enemy. In short, the unshakable woman was frightened.

She could feel Kim's tension even through her glove. The girl was trembling a bit as she led Shego and Ron into the parking lot. So far they had managed to cross the gap between the sidewalk and the first aisle of cars unscathed. No monsters came to attack them. In fact, they could hear nothing in the gloom aside from their own individual breathing. Shego heard her own breath and took stock of how strained it felt. She was really scared. _Her_. Shego!

Feeling her way forward with her other arm, Shego felt it bump against solid steel. She heard something else...Ron cursed.

"What is it?" Shego instinctively flared up her free hand, thinking something was attacking him.

"Turn that off!" Kim said in the loudest voice she dared. Only when Shego did as she said did the redhead explain. "Ron just hit his foot against the curb. He got startled, is all."

"Sorry," Ron's voice came from far to Shego's right, beyond Kim.

Sighing, Shego knew they were really in for it. How could she let Kim talk her into this stupid plan. Anyone who's ever read National Geographic or watched the Discovery Channel knew that smeared blood could be an attractant as well as a repellant. Sure having the kite-thing's blood all over them my deter smaller animals from going near them, but it might also attract one real big one. Shego had encountered a few of those when she and Drakken made their narrow escape. Now here she was with two bumbling teenagers covered in alien blood. She may as well have covered herself in barbecue sauce and rung the dinner bell.

"Come on!" Kim led them into the aisle, trying to keep the closest row of cars near Ron's right while they proceeded towards the north end of the lot. Shego opened up all her senses. She relied more on hearing than anything else as her eyes were useless and her sense of smell was about as weak as any human's. Moreover, she relied on her sixth sense to alert her of danger. She tried to _feel_ the area around her, _looking_ for potential threats. more than once she thought she spotted something near her, a shadow or an image, but it turned out to be nothing but swirling coils of mist.

"Princess, this is a really bad idea."

"You can always go back," Kim whispered, doing her best to sound brave.

"And say I let you save the day while I cowered in that second-hand store? Forget it."

"Hey!" Ron's voice spat. "I work in that store!"

"Quiet!" Kim told them both. "No talking."

Shego rolled her eyes. As if Kim was listening to her own advice.

They walked for several minutes with no word passing between them. It's funny, but they half expected the lot to be filled with the corpses of dead bugs from last night's culling. Perhaps the dactyls had been thorough in their hunt, leaving nothing behind.

"Are we there yet?" Ron asked all of a sudden.

Shego resisted the urge to kick the boy's mouth shut. Didn't he understand what silence meant? If only he were next to her she'd...

What was that?

Squinting, for it was human nature to rely on one's eyes in a hostile area, Shego tried to see futilely through the mist. She turned her head and listened instead. There was something not far from them. It sounded like a metal pole scraping against the concrete. At first it was just one, then three, then several. "Uh, guys."

Kim was still in the process of reprimanding her boyfriend when Shego spoke. "Possible! Stoppable!" Shego spat. "Listen!"

They did. When they heard it, Shego felt them both grow stiff with fright.

"What is that?" Ron's voice asked.

"A limping telephone pole. What the hell do you think it is, you moron!" Shego didn't wait. She pulled Kim and Ron towards the nearest car and said, "Get under. Now!"

"Shego we don't,"

But the woman cut Kim off. "Now, Princess!" Forcing Kim and Ron under the SUV, Shego scuttled along beside them. They waited in baited breath as the sound got closer and closer. Whatever was making that noise, it was big. Really _big_. The ground actually began to tremble as the thing grew closer. How the humans wished they could see for their hiding place seemed futile indeed at anything that could make the ground move like this. Even the SUV trembled as the steps, for they were steps, finally reached their position. It was big enough that they could just make out a looming shadow crest the extreme periphery of their vision. Something resembling a large leg, crustacean in form, stabbed the ground just a foot from where Kim's face was. She covered mouth to avoid screaming and watched as another leg pounded down next to Ron.

Shego bit her teeth. She felt like a little girl hiding under her bed, unable to cry out for her mother. She hated that feeling. Shego didn't get scared.

A sound escaped her lips. A whimper. The two legs remained where they were. Then a sniffing sound filled the air. It came from several feet above their heads. Shego must have guessed that the nose, if that's what it was, was at least three stories above their heads. She cursed Kim for convincing her to smear blood on herself. The thing would surely find them now. How could she have been so stupid?

_That's what you get for spending all your time with an idiot. His stupidity has rubbed off on you._

Ron and Kim were shaking like newborn babes. Shego didn't blame them. In all likelihood they were about to die. Well Shego didn't plan on going down without a fight.

One of the legs went up, chipping the concrete floor before landing a few feet away. The other leg followed and soon the large crab-like monster was moving down the aisle, away from their position. The trio waited a long time, a full three minutes, until the creature was long gone before climbing out of their hiding place.

"Everyone okay?" Kim asked.

"Scared, KP. But alive."

Unknown to them, Rufus poked his head out of Ron's pocket, shaking like he'd lost all the warmth in his blood. "Bad thing! Bad!"

"Easy, Rufus." Ron patted his head.

"Can we go now!" Shego urged. She was glad the mist covered her frightened face. She didn't want Kim to know that she'd been spooked. "It might come this way again."

"What was that thing?" She heard Ron ask.

"A hunter," Shego said. "These are its hunting grounds."

"You see?" Kim said. "The blood works. It didn't smell us."

"Maybe we're not it's type," Shego told her. "Some hunters only eat a certain type of food. Like those pterodactyls did those giant dragonflies."

"I'd hate to be the thing that fits into that thing's stomach," Ron said.

Shego nodded and didn't say anything. "Let's go!"

They walked two steps before Kim cursed. "Oh shit!"

Shego looked back, realizing that in their rush to get moving they hadn't clasped hands again and were separated. She couldn't see Kim even though her voice wasn't far. "What?"

"I...I'm not sure where we are."

"What?"

Kim sounded exasperated. "I got turned around after we hid. I'm not sure which direction the car is now."

"Didn't' you say the north end?" Shego asked.

"Which way is north?"

Shego almost screamed. "Are you kidding me?"

"What was that sound?" Ron's distant voice said. "KP? Shego?"

"Where are you, Ron?"

"I don't know."

"I can't see you."

Shego felt something brush against her. "Ron?"

"Unless Ron's grown a pair of tits, I suggest you let go of mine," Shego told her.

Gasping, Kim removed her offending hands. "Shego. Where's Ron?"

"I don't know!"

There was another sound in the distance, getting closer.

"Kim!" Ron sounded terrified. "Where are you?"

"Over here, Ron! Follow my voice!"

"I can't tell where it's coming from!"

"Over here! Just listen!"

Shego grabbed Kim. "Lower your voice."

"Why? They can't hear us."

"We don't know that." Shego tightened her grip on the girl's arm. "We don't know they can't smell us either. Now stay here." She pulled Kim towards another car and placed the girl's hand on it. "I'll go get your buffoon."

"Shego!" Kim protested. "I won't leave Ron."

"I'm not asking you to. But you're in no condition to look for him at the moment." Ron's voice sounded more distant, calling to both women. "I'll get him and come back."

"What if you get lost too? You might not be able to find your way back."

"I have a better sense of direction than you. Besides," Shego sniffed at her. "I can smell you a mile away now." It was a lie, Shego knew, for the mist seemed to steal away scent almost as completely as it did sight. Shego could barely smell herself and she was covered in blood. "I'll be back, Princess." Letting Kim go, Shego hurried into where she believed his voice had come from.

"Moron!" Shego whispered loudly. "Hey, Ron! Where are you?"

His voice came from far away. "Kim! Shego!"

"Stop yelling!" She tried to be heard through the mist. Her stealthy footsteps seemed unnecessarily loud and Shego winced each time her soles touched the ground. _I can't believe I'm risking myself for the buffoon. Kim's been a bad influence on me as well as Dr. D._

It was only a few seconds but it felt like minutes. Shego wandered around a good distance but still couldn't find Ron. He stopped calling out just a little while ago. She feared the worse. "Dammit! Of all times to learn how to keep his mouth shut. Kim really knows how to pick them."

Something moved. Shego stopped and listened in, her hands outstretched and ready to flare up at a moment's notice. "Ron?"

Something smacked right into her. Terrified, Shego ignited her hands and started thrashing like a crazed animal.

"Wah! Shego!" Ron's shrill voice scared her more than his sudden appearance. Apparently the boy could move quietly when he wanted to.

"Get off of me!" Pushing him off, Shego quickly got up. "What the hell are you doing?"

Ron's figure stood up before her. "I thought I heard something."

"Me?"

He said nothing.

"Ron, you realize I can't see you shake or nod your head, right?"

"I shook my head."

Shego cursed inside. "Stay close to me." She took his head and put it on her shoulder. "I'm going to lead us back to Kim."

"Is she okay?"

"Last I saw her."

"You can see in this stuff?"

Shego sighed. "Just follow me." They moved quickly back the way she had come from. She wasn't entirely sure it was the same way, Ron's sudden collision having thrown her off her direction, but she was pretty sure. Her woman's intuition hadn't failed her yet, except on those few rare occasions, and they didn't count anyway.

She stopped to listen. "What is it?" Ron asked.

"I thought I heard something?"

"KP?"

"No."

"Oh." She felt Ron slump.

"Come on!" She felt a car to her left and ordered Ron beside it. How she wished she could see what was coming. Trained or no, it was infuriating not knowing what you were up against. Readying a plasma blast, Shego glanced back at Ron. "Can you control that monkey magic of yours?"

"Tai Shing Pek Kuar? Not so much?"

She sighed. "You're useless, Stoppable."

"That hurts, Miss Go."

"What did you call me?"

"What? That is your last name, right?"

"Don't you ever call me that again." Now Shego did flare up. It chased away enough of the mist that she was able to see Ron's frightened face just a foot away from her. "You hear me?"

Ron wasn't visibly shaking now.

"Take heed, dummy. I'm more dangerous than anything we'll find in this mist."

But Ron wasn't looking at her. It took Shego a moment realize this. He was looking over her, behind her, and above. "Buffoon?" Shego, her hand aglow, raised it up and saw what he was staring at. The giant crustacean, or whatever it was, was standing right over them. Shego held very still, her hand still alight.

"Don't move," she told Ron.

She didn't have to. The boy was scared stiff.

The sniffing sound came again, somewhere up in that huge disk-shaped body of the beast four stories up. It was bigger than Shego thought. She just hoped that Kim's theory proved correct and that it could not s...

Something came down at them, fast and hard. Ron screamed.

**KP**

"Ron?" Kim had heard him scream enough times to recognize when he was in trouble. Though unable to see and going against Shego's orders, Kim moved away from the car. "Ron!" It was dumb making so much noise but Kim was desperate. She'd never been in a sitch she couldn't handle before. It was breaking her down bit by bit. Not caring who, or more importantly what, heard her, Kim started running towards the direction she heard Ron scream.

"Ron! Umph!" She almost ran headfirst into a parked minivan. Cursing, Kim hopped atop the vehicle. Standing tall, she listened for her lover's voice. The mist distorted sound as easily as it did sight, making spotting something ludicrously difficult. She could just make out Ron screaming, Shego blasting away at something, and a monstrous gurgle that sounded like a drowning giant. Did Shego kill it, she wondered? Or was that just how it normally sounded? It was an awful noise.

"Shego!" She called out.

"Kim!" Her rival called back. "Help!"

Shego calling for help? She must be desperate indeed. "Where are you?"

"Just follow Ron's screams!"

"KP!"

"Ron!" Kim hopped onto the next car, which turned out to be a convertible and she fell down into the back seat. "Oh for the love of...I hate this mist!"

Something scuttled beside the car. It was a good thing Kim was lying face-first in the back seat else she would have been skewered alive when two massive pincers clamped down on the edges of the car. Kim turned around just in time to see the pincers lift the convertible into the air. "Not good!" Moving to the front seat, Kim worked her way onto the hood of the car. Now suspended in the air, unable to see how far the ground was or anything else for that matter, she felt a rush of heat above her and saw something, a mouth maybe, a void of teeth rotating inches above her.

Reacting, for that was what she did, Kim hopped off the hood and grabbed the bender, dangling. The teeth shredded the steel to bits where she was just standing. Looking down, Kim knew she was taking a risk. If she didn't prepare her fall accordingly, she might well break her legs. Spotting something to the side, Kim crawled her way underneath the car, the way one would monkey bars at a park, just as the front half of the convertible was torn right off. Bits of metal oil fell around her. Something hard smacked into the back of her shoulder and Kim winced as she felt clothing and tissue being torn away. It had probably been an engine part, and it cut right down her shoulder blade all the way to her back.

Clinging by one arm now, Kim saw the large appendage or whatever not far from her. With all of her strength and endurance, the girl flung herself off the bottom and grabbed for the feeler. Once Kim brushed against it, clinging to it with her one good arm and wrapping her legs around it, the feeler began to twitch and fling her about. Sliding downward, Kim waited until the last possible second before letting go. Her timing was good and she let go about six feet off the ground, the feeler retracting into the mist. Kim rolled with her fall, coming up unscathed save for the nasty gash across her back.

Metal crunched above her. Kim jumped just as the wreckage of the convertible crashed down right she where she had been standing. Kim came up running, for the creature was right on top of her. The pincers came down again and crunched into another parked car. Kim bobbed and weaved, using the cars as coverage from the monstrous thing. She'd no idea how big it was, but knew running out in the open was suicidal with its great reach. The packed car lot provided her with ample obstacles to slow the creature down. Always moving, Kim never looked back.

She ran and slid underneath a large four-by-four, wincing as her wounded back skinned across the pavement. No sooner was she on the other side when the pincers crushed the vehicle below. How the hell was it following her, she wondered? Perhaps the kite thing had been its food and as far as the monster knew Kim was its favorite snack. It's not like she hadn't been chased by things that wanted to eat her before, but this time was different. This time Kim felt a burgeoning sense of dread.

Kim flipped over another van, ducked around a truck, and leaped through an open car window. Taking a breather, Kim listened and waited. The wound in her back was really starting to hurt but she needed to get her bearings. She'd lost track of Ron and Shego and could have been heading in the wrong direction for all she knew. For the longest time, not a sound was heard. Kim slowly got up, listening for sounds of approach. What she did hear was someone's ragged breathing. Peering over the front seat, Kim spotted a young man of Asian-American origin huddled in the backseat. He looked ragged, as if he hadn't' eaten for days. Then Kim remembered the host of people that had left the Smarty Mart when the mist first fell.

"What are you doing here?" She asked the man.

Wide-eyed, for he must have been all alone for a long time, the man couldn't even speak. He just stared at Kim, shaking, as if she were some mist monster.

Glancing once outside, Kim turned to him. "Listen to me, I can get you someplace safe, but you need to trust me." She reached for him. "My name's Kim Possible. Who are you?"

The man cringed and began to cry out. He was terrified.

"Shh! Keep your voice down!"

He screamed, huddling away from her.

"I'm trying to help you. Please don't..." The pincers clamped down outside and pulled the car up. "NO!" Kim yelled as the car was pulled up by its backside, sending her crashing through the front mirror. Kim back flipped and landed safely on her feet, though she had been cut by the glass. Grunting, she heard the man screaming as he and his car disappeared into the mist above her. There was a metal grinding, tearing, and more screams that were suddenly muted as the pincer monster moaned.

More glass and metal showered Kim and she had to move quickly. Running as fast as she could, Kim tripped over a curb and fell onto the ground. She was near car bumper and looked up into a man's face. She almost cried out until she realized he was hiding underneath a car just as she had done not too long ago. As startled by her appearance as she was by his, Kim motioned for him to follow her. "You have to follow me. It's not safe under there."

The man made no move to comply.

Behind her, Kim heard the sound of metal and glass hitting the floor, getting closer. "Come on!" She grabbed his arm. "We have to go!" He came out remarkably easy, too easy. Now Kim did scream. She didn't need to see everything to know that just about everything beneath the chest was gone, just gone and eaten. The man's stare had been a dead one. Whatever he was hiding from beneath the car had managed to get to him after all.

Shaking, Kim turned around to run. "Shego! Ron!" She cried. "Rufus! Monique! Dad! Mom! Anybody!"

She heard a crunching sound and something hit her from behind.

**KP**

The lawn scissors seemed pitiful indeed against whatever was chasing them. Ron ran as fast as his legs could carry him, not caring to be quiet anymore. Shego was right behind him, her movements lit up through bursts of plasma as she fired away at the monster behind them. "Keep moving!" She ordered him.

Pointless. Ron would have run to the ends of the earth if it meant escaping this nightmare.

Rufus poked his head out of Ron's pocket. Catching a flash of the thing behind them, he ducked back down. How Ron envied his friend, being able to hide while he had to face the music.

Ron crashed into a car that had been parked in the middle of the driveway. No. Not parked. Turned over. It was lying on its side. "Some park job."

"Move it!" Shego barreled into Ron, who then barreled into the wheel. Spinning, he turned around just in time to see a hooked leg crash into the floor in front of him. A strong hand grabbed him and pulled him around the vehicle. Shego pulled Ron down to hide. The car had a sunroof on it with the window broken. "Do you want to die?" An aggravated Shego asked him.

Before he could respond, Ron winced as the creature bumped into the side of the car. They both got up to run but instead hit a solid wall. "The fuck!" Shego screamed. "Are you kidding me?"

"Um...Shego?" Ron caught her attention just as the car went flying right at them. Grabbing Ron as he screamed, Shego pulled him down again. A loud crash echoed through the lot as the car was crushed against the wall. Luckily both Ron and Shego were ducking. Even luckier they were for with the sunroof broken, there was just enough space for them both to avoid being crushed. They both blinked their eyes open, now inside the upside down car.

"Jurassic Park," Ron said.

"What?" Shego gasped.

"You never saw Jurassic Park?"

"Who the hell cares about that now?"

Ron chuckled. "If only you knew the irony."

The monster outside crashed against the car. The whole thing began to bend.

"It's going to crush us!" Ron wailed.

"I have eyes, you idiot!" Shego flared up.

"You can't start shooting in here."

"Why not?"

"You might blow something up."

"I'll blow you up if you don't let me go!"

"But Shego!"

Rufus ran out of Ron's pocket. Seeing the situation, the naked mole rat ran out through one of the dents in the steel car, squirming outside.

"Some friend. Your rat's abandoning us."

"No," Ron said. He watched Rufus go. "No he's not."

**KP**

Kim felt a warm hand clap over her mouth before she could yell out. A voice began speaking to her. "It's me."

Kim's eyes widened. She waited for the hand to remove itself before turning around. "Josh?"

He nodded, though she could barely see it.

"What in the world are you doing out here?"

"Saving your ass." He pulled her behind a car. "And you're welcome."

Still in shock, Kim peeked over the hood of the car as if she could see anything. "Why are you out here? I thought you were still in Smarty Mart?"

"I couldn't stay."

"What?"

Josh stared at her through the mist. "I couldn't just sit around and do nothing anymore. That's what happened to Tara." Then he said, "She died because I just stood there. She's dead because of me."

"Josh, now isn't the time to,"

"I want payback."

That froze Kim in mid-sentence.

"I'm going to kill each and every one of these goddamn things. I can't kill them if I'm hiding."

"Oh, Josh."

He pulled away when he felt her reaching out to him. "Don't misunderstand. I haven't forgotten what we talked about. When I learned what you planned to do, I wasn't going to get left behind. I was halfway through the lot when I heard you three. How stupid are you to talk so loud while in the mist?"

Kim sighed. "Thanks for saving me, Josh."

"Whatever." He stood up. "Where's your car?"

"I'm not sure. We got lost and then separated."

"Terrific."

Kim's hand grazed his shoulder. "You're not covered in blood."

"It was a stupid idea."

Kim grimaced at that. "It was all I could think of."

"And has it been working so far?" Josh peered over the vehicle.

"Not that I can tell."

"Then it was stupid." He grabbed her. "This way."

Kim felt herself being guided rather roughly through the parking lot. "Where are you taking me?" Then she heard the sounds of battle. From far off, Kim could have sworn she heard a familiar female voice scream the "F" word before going silent. There was a loud crash.

"I figured I was somewhere between the two of you," Josh said. "I just happened to find you first."

"How did you find me?" Kim asked, running now that she figured where Ron and Shego were.

"Luck." Josh picked up the pace as well.

Deciding to leave it for now, Kim ran as fast as she could. Then she heard a car horn honking. "Hang on, Ron. I'm coming!"

**KP**

"What is that?" Shego asked when she heard the car horn.

Beside her, Ron said, "Rufus."

She glanced at him. "What?"

"We're both good at distractions, remember?" Ron said. "It's what we do."

Suddenly the attack on the car stopped and they heard the creature retreating. Once it was far enough away, Shego blasted the ruined door off and stepped out. The horn was coming from somewhere to her right. "What the hell is your rodent doing?"

"He must be leading it away so we can escape. I told you Rufus wouldn't just leave us like that."

"Nice pet." Shego spoke with a hint of respect.

"Now let's go get him." Ron ran, but Shego grabbed him. "What? We need to go save Rufus."

"What we need is to find Kim's car."

She could feel Ron's eyes bulge. "We can't just leave him!" He started to pull away. "That thing will eat him!"

"He's tiny, Stoppable. He can move a lot faster and quieter without us bumbling humans around. Trust me. He'll be fine."

"I won't abandon my best friend." Shego heard something tear as Ron pulled away from her grasp. "Rufus! I'm coming, buddy!"

"Oy!" She ran after him, lighting up so as to better see him. "The things I do for idiots."

**KP**

Whoever as honking the horn was causing such a racket that Kim and Josh had no problem finding the source. Neither did the monster chasing Shego and Ron, apparently. A green Chevy was the culprit, and at the wheel was a tiny pink rodent hopping up and down. Rufus knew he'd succeeded when the monster jabbed a spiked leg through the hood of the vehicle, spearing it. Realizing his time was done, Rufus leaped out of the open window. The creature shredded the car to pieces.

Groaning, Rufus slowly got up only to be nearly stepped on. "HEY!" The naked mole rat screamed just in time before a white sneaker nearly crushed him. Amazingly enough, Kim heard the rodent and looked down.

"Rufus?" She bent down for she still couldn't see him. Rufus clambered up her side and onto her shoulder. "Kim!"

"Rufus!"

"Ron's pet?" Josh's voice said to the side.

Before she replied, Kim heard something. "Move!" Grabbing Josh, she pulled him to the side just as a pair of pincers struck the ground they were on. "Guess he's back." Kim turned around. The pincers retreated into the air.

"Rufus!" Ron barreled right into Josh Mankey. The two boys fell over. "You're not Rufus."

"Get off of me!" Josh pushed Ron off.

A flaming green woman appeared right next to the teenagers. Shego gawked at them. "What the hell is this? A Middleton reunion special?"

Above them, the teens and woman heard the two monsters battling it out. Apparently they wanted squatting rights to the human food below. The ground shook with the sounds of their battle. Legs and pincers kept spiking the ground, dangerously close.

"I think we should get out of here!" Kim said.

"Good call." Shego led the way.

"But Rufus!" Ron complained. Kim handed the mole rat back to its original owner. "Rufus! KP, you saved him!"

"It's what I do, Ron. Now run!" They ran as far away from the battling monsters as they could, all of them following Shego as her green fire lit up the night. Once they'd put enough distance between them, the humans finally had a chance to rest.

Shego spoke first. "Exposition. What's heartbreak boy doing here?"

"Heartbreak boy?" Josh repeated.

"He saved my life, Shego."

"I repeat. What's he doing here?"

"I'm going with you," Josh told her.

"Says who?" She eyed him.

"I don't need your permission."

"Says who?"

Kim stepped between them, that is, she thought she did. She couldn't see either of them so she had to guess based on their voices. "Guys! Can we do this some other time?" In the distance, the monsters continued to battle. One of them would win eventually and no doubt try to claim the spoils. Kim wanted to be far away when that happened. "Let's just get to the sloth and get out of here. We can argue on the way to the hospital."

She could feel the two glaring across the mist. "Okay?"

Shego sighed first. "Fine. So where is the sloth?"

Now it was Kim who sighed. "I'm not sure."

"You really didn't plan this out didn't you?"

Now Kim glared in what she hopped was Shego's face.

"The wall," Ron's voice said.

"What about the wall?" Kim asked.

"It's on the parking lot's west side. We can use it to trace our way north until we reach the end. Then we just follow the line of cars to Kim's sloth."

"But how do we find the wall?"

"Shego?" Ron sounded like he was looking for her, his feet scraping the floor.

"What is it, dolt?"

"Can you flare up again?"

"Are you kidding?" She said incredulously. "And have those things chase us?"

"I noticed I could see better when you were fired up."

"So could those things apparently."

"Wait a minute," Kim began, "You mean they can see us in this mist?"

"Your blood idea wasn't exactly a home run, Princess. That monster had no problem tracking me and the buffoon."

"While I got through unbothered," Josh said. "Didn't come across anything while moving through the lot."

"Okay! So my idea was a bomb! Can we move on please?" Kim grumbled. "Turn on the light, Shego."

After a moment's hesitation, Shego did just that. The mist evaporated around her and one could clearly see her image, if a bit distorted. "Happy now?"

"Ron?" Kim said.

When Ron moved closer to Shego, he became more visible as well, as did Rufus, sitting on his shoulder. He took a quick look around to take advantage of the visibility and get his bearings. "Right." He pointed. "This way. Shego, stay close to me."

"I've heard that one before." Shego did as he said and followed, Josh and Kim right behind. More familiar with the layout of the parking lot, Ron seemed to know where he was going, the same way he would know how to navigate his room while in the dark. Soon a dark barrier loomed before them, the wall. "Come on." Leading the way again, Ron took them down the line until they'd reached the end of the lot. A car with its door opened lay discarded by the entrance, the passenger long gone and no doubt lost to the mist. When they reached the end, Ron did a quick right, using the rim of the lot as guidance that was in full view of Shego's light. He counted quietly to himself, recalling the number of spaces Kim had parked away from the wall. At twenty-seven, he stopped by a familiar vehicle.

"Booyah!"

"Nice work, Ron."

"Ahem!" Shego cleared her throat.

"You make a good nightlight, Shego," Kim said as she pulled out her keys.

"I'll nightlight you," Shego moved to the passenger said, glaring at Ron who tried to go there instead. He backed off and took the seat behind her instead. Once everyone was inside, only then did Kim breathe a long sigh of relief. She turned on the car and brought up a map of the city on the display. It appeared on the front-view mirror for all to see.

Smarty Mart was located on the outskirts of Middleton proper, about a quarter mile from the main highway that ran along the length of the city's west side. Kim traced a line from Smarty Mart using her finger, a red line appearing in her wake. "Middleton General's up here," she stopped her finger on the city's north side. "It's about a twenty minute ride."

"With clear visibility and no monsters, you mean," Ron said.

"Thirty minutes then. We'll stick to the side roads."

"Fifty minutes," Shego said after checking her gloves.

"I'll try to drive as fast as possible, but we need to be careful." Something howled outside. "I guess somebody won."

"And we won't if we stay here," Shego nudged Kim in the shoulder. "Start driving."

"Don't push me."

"Ladies!" Josh snapped. They both looked to him. "Just go!"

Shego was about to retort but when the howl sounded out again, closer this time, she stomped her foot. "Go!"

Kim did just that. She activated the car's motion sensor, a device that acted much in the same a bat's echo would enable it to circumvent a pitch-black cave without the use of its eyes, and rolled the sloth out of its hiding place. On the window, the sensor detailed a picture of the ground around them. Kim could see the outline of cars and other obstructions and was easily able to make her way out of the parking lot. Behind them, the creature howled again, but the humans were long gone.

**KP**

The drive was eerily silent. No one said anything and aside from the incessant beeping of the inboard sensor, there was no sound. The world outside the windows was dead, like they were driving in a grave. Middleton was a vibrant town of about thirty thousand souls, even greater if one included the greater Tri-City area of Lowerton and Upperton, for a total of nearly ninety-thousand people. One could only imagine how far the mist had spread. Those inside felt like they were the last inhabitants on earth.

Kim kept to her word and took the side roads, avoiding the main streets where she knew traffic congestion would be at its worst. Citizens no doubt scrambled when the mist came, many abandoning their cars in the middle of the road and seeking shelter elsewhere. She wondered, as they bypassed several buildings, if anyone was inside of them. She wanted to stop and check each and every one of them, but knew that they didn't have the time. Her mission was to save those still trapped in the Smarty Mart. If people were indeed hiding, they would have to wait for help.

But I'm supposed to be the help, Kim thought. She helped people. It's what she did. _You're a lie_. 's words came back to haunt Kim at that moment. Here she was just leaving survivors to their own devices while she helped those closest to her. It was selfishness. That's now how heroes acted. They never played favorites. Kim was becoming a horrible person.

Looking at the rearview mirror, she spotted Ron just staring lifelessly outside the window. Ron. He'd changed so much since Kim knew him. Gone was the upbeat, charismatic boy she'd come to love. This experience had hardened him into something cold, something Kim couldn't feel kindness from anymore. He had threatened Justine and Bonnie with their lives. _Threatened_. Ron never wanted to hurt anybody before, even his worst enemies. Kim had to save Ron for his own sake, else she might lose the man he once was.

Though she couldn't see Josh, Kim could feel his eyes upon her. She recalled their near confrontation back at Smarty Mart and how angry he had become. He blamed her for Tara's death. He blamed her for their breakup. What else would he blame her with down the line? The mist? The situation at Smarty Mart? The deaths of everybody in Middleton, including his own parents? Kim would have to keep a close eye on Josh in the near future. She still wasn't happy he'd chosen to come along even if he had rescued her in the lot. He was too unreliable to be of great help at the moment. He was as much a threat to her as the woman sitting beside Kim.

Glancing once at Shego, Kim noticed she was looking down at her hands. So defeated, Kim thought. Shego almost looked like she had given up. Did she blame herself for what happened to Dr. Drakken? Was it all somehow he fault? For that matter, what were she and Drakken doing in Middleton in the first place?

"Shego?"

"Hm?"

Kim gulped. "What were you doing in Middleton?"

"You're interrogating me now?"

Kim kept her eyes on the sensor map but kept speaking. "No offense, but whenever you and Drakken are around it's never to see the sights. What were you doing flying over Middleton?"

"We have a base near here. You do know that right?"

Kim nodded. "I know. But,"

Shego sighed. "Look, we weren't doing anything wrong. Not yet, anyway. Drakken needed to pick up a few things and he needed the hovercar so I went with him."

"You were grocery shopping?" Kim asked in disbelief.

"Villains gotta eat too."

"And he couldn't' do that on his own?"

"You think one of the most wanted men in the world can just stroll into a the local market and pick up a few eggs? The color of his skin alone would draw attention."

"And yours wouldn't?"

"I can avoid being seen when I want to."

"But then you'll have to pay for the food."

Shego chuckled. "Who says I pay?"

She had her there.

"So you were heading back to the lair when the mist arrived?"

"Pretty much."

"So why were you heading in the opposite direction?"

Shego looked at her.

"Your lair's on the east side of town, near the mountains. Smarty Mart is all the way on the west. You mean to tell me your car broke down, you were caught in the mist, and just happened to limp all the way across town until you reached the store? That's a long walk even for you, Shego."

The woman crossed her arms. "You're saying I'm lying?"

"You're saying I'm wrong?"

In the back, Ron's interest was peaked and he listened in.

"Shego, I know you. You're never anywhere by circumstance. You and Drakken were up to something and I want to know what it was."

"None of your business."

"Look around you, Shego. My town is covered in fog and I have no idea what's going on."

"It's mist."

"Whatever. The point is, something weird went down and I have a feeling, a gut feeling, that you know more about what's happening than you're letting on." Kim glared once at her. "You're too smart to play stupid, Shego. Don't kid yourself."

"A compliment and an insult all at once. Am I rubbing off on you?"

Feeling her fingers grip the wheel tighter, Kim grit her teeth. "I'm not in the kidding mood. Drakken's going to die if we don't succeed in this mission. We both have people we care about whose lives are on the line. If we're going to work together, then we need to trust each other."

"That's a first."

"No it isn't," Kim said. "Remember Aviarius in Go City? We teamed up then, and we did the same thing when Electronique made your brothers go rogue. We've worked together in the past and things always went well. I'm not saying we have to be friends, but we can at least be honest with each other."

"Fine." Shego sighed. "I kissed my first boy when I was twelve. My favorite flavor is strawberry. I lost my virginity in the back of..."

"Shego!"

"She's playing mind games with you, KP." Ron spoke up. "It's how she gets you."

"Look at the buffoon being all analytical." She glanced at him through the sideway mirror. "You've grown a pair since I last saw you, Stoppable. What toughened you up?"

"I lost someone."

"A friend?"

"An idiot."

"Someone I know?"

"No."

Then Shego said, "And you hate yourself for it."

Ron grimaced and turned away.

Back to Kim, Shego said, "That's how you analyze someone, Possible. Know their weaknesses."

"You're not as tough as you think you are, Shego."

"Oh, Kimmie. I'm so much stronger than you will ever know."

"I doubt it."

"Fine." Shego crossed her arms behind her head. "Live in alone in that river in Egypt."

She almost wished Bonnie were here instead of Shego. At least it was possible to get an argument out of Bonnie, whereas Shego avoided the conversation with the grace of a ballet dancer. The woman was a master at mind games, far more than Kim could ever hope to be. Let her keep her secrets for now, Kim thought. Sooner or later, all snakes have to come out of hiding.

**KP**

Josh said nothing the entire trip, though Ron noticed he'd been fidgeting, like he was uncomfortable or expectant. Was he worried about something? It was stupid of him to join them on their expedition. Josh was an artist, a painter and a poet. He wasn't a fighter than Kim, Shego, or even Ron. About the only struggle the guy's ever had in his life was choosing which girl to date, and that had been Tara. Maybe Ron should have cut him some slack. Ron had no idea what was going through his mind right now. Hell, Ron might well have gone over the edge and do something as stupid as this had Kim died. Still, he'd make sure to keep an eye on him, much like he knew Kim would want to watch Shego for the remainder of the mission.

Once they'd reached Middleton General, Kim did a thorough scan of the area to make sure it was clear. "Funny how quiet it's been," Shego said. "We didn't run into anything the whole way here."

"Maybe because there's nothing here to eat," Ron said. Shego looked over her chair at him. "I'm just saying. There's plenty of food over at Smarty Mart."

"Don't talk that way, Ron. Please."

Ron shrugged. "I'm not trying to be funny here, KP."

"Good. Because you're not!" She snapped at him.

Noticing the lovers' quarrel, Shego raised an eyebrow at Ron before turning back to Kim. Great, Ron thought. He and Kim and just given the woman more ammunition. Was it just him, or was Ron getting better at keeping his outbursts in check than Kim was? Wasn't she usually the cool and collected one? Kim couldn't afford to look weak around Shego. Not now. Not ever. Maybe she just didn't care. Kim was putting too much weight on her shoulders, what with the people trapped at Smarty Mart, the town, her family, the fact that her dad might have had something to do with this whole fiasco.

She might snap at any moment.

"Well?" Shego asked, wanting to get out and stretch, even if stretching meant blasting a few freaks along the way.

"It's all clear," she reported. "Far as I can tell."

"Good enough." Shego moved to open the door.

"Wait!" Kim grabbed her. Shego looked back. "You know why we're here, right?" Kim looked back at the boys. "We're trying to find anyone alive that can help Dr. Drakken and Mr. Barkin. Look for surgeons."

"And if there's no one inside?" Josh finally asked.

"There has to be. The hospital's built to survive natural disasters."

Shego flipped her hand off. "Uh, Kimmie?" She pointed outside. "Does this look _natural_ to you?"

Ron said, "We go in, find what help we need, and go back. Sound about right?"

Kim nodded to Ron. She was grateful for his support. "We split into two teams."

"Girls vs. the boys?" Shego teased.

"Don't be an instigator, Shego."

"You're right. There's only one girl here. It wouldn't be fair to the guys."

"Age does make a difference."

Shego glared green daggers at Kim.

"Let's go!" Ron said, before a fight could break out. He was the first one out the door, waiting for Josh to join him. Kim and Shego got out next. Together they walked through the mist and entered through the sliding doors. Not good, Ron thought. The doors were still working and there were no barricades like at Smarty Mart. Anything with enough weight could make them slide open, which meant a mist monster about as big as he was could enter at a whim, no obstacles whatsoever.

Ron almost blinked when they entered the lobby. The lights were off, but it was still much brighter than it was inside the mist. He felt Josh bump into him from behind. Kim came around, as did Shego, and together the four of them gazed out into the darkness.

"Not a good sign," Ron said.

"Shego. Light."

Shego took Kim's advice and flared up both her hands, casting long shadows into the room. "Doesn't look like there's anyone here, Princess."

"The doors are working."

"It's automated," Shego said back.

"Then what happened to the lights?"

"Unautomated?"

Kim sighed. "If you don't have anything intelligent to add..."

"Shh!" Ron inclined his head. They all waited with baited breath. After what happened in the parking lot, no one made a sound. Rufus sniffed the air. "Got something little buddy?" Ron asked his longtime friend.

"Man!"

Ron blinked. "What?"

"Man!"

Suddenly, several lights flashed on them. The four were blinded and forced to cover their eyes, Rufus falling off of Ron's shoulder.

"Ambush!" Kim cried.

"Shit!" Shego wailed.

"Don't move!" Came a commanding voice.

"Take it easy," Kim began, "We're human."

"I don't care if you were my own mother. Take one unnecessary step and you die right where you stand."


End file.
